The body of the colossus moved. Its actions were twice faster than before, as if the head had been constraining it. Dallion instantly realized this, casting several spells to boost his body and reaction traits. Thanks to his naturally high values, he rarely needed to resort to this since joining the Academy. In this case, he had no alternative. If he were to guess, the colossus’ traits were in the high seventies, at least. The complete lack of magic prevented Dallion from seeing anything more. Apparently, his teachers at the Academy were wrong—there were creatures that didn’t have even a shred of magic.

I can sense you, speckling, a voice boomed in Dallion’s head. Even if I can no longer see you.

Isn’t it supposed to die when I take out the head? Dallion asked in his realm.

I’m not sure, the harpsisword replied.

Obviously, that wasn’t the case. While human in appearance, the mountain functioned in a far different way. One could speculate that all parts of its body were autonomous from each other, powered by a force different from magic. Dismembering him undoubtedly made the colossus weaker, but it wasn’t enough to defeat him.

The one functional stone arm moved through the air like a hurricane, determined to grab hold of Dallion. The speed was incredible, making it seem as if a dozen hands were reaching for him. It was only through magic and splitting that Dallion remained half a step ahead.

I know you can hear me, speckling, the mountain continued. I can sense the Moon’s voice within you.

Striking with his harpsisword, Dallion tried to disable the arm of his opponent by using a music spark attack. Strands attached to their target as before, but failed to make it freeze. Instead, the colossus pulled away, causing them to snap.

And the Moon’s breath, the headless entity added.

“If you want to talk, why do you keep fighting?”

Who says we cannot do both?

The colossus spun around, doing a spin kick. The speed and size of the foot made it impossible for Dallion to avoid it, even with fifty instances. Aware of that, he used the aura sword to cast as many barriers as possible, as well as two preemptive healing spells.

The slam was dull and painful, hurling him back hundreds of feet. Had it occurred on the ground, Dallion wouldn’t have gotten away with as little damage as he had. He could feel the effect of the healing spells activating, peeling away the pain.

Damn, that was fast, he thought, flying straight up. He had barely noticed his protective barriers shattering.

You’re a tough one, the colossus remarked. Most would have died by now.

The casual way in which he said it suggested that he had fought humans before many times.

With a bit more experience you could have even won.

“What do you mean?” Dallion felt waves of terror spread throughout his body, terror he hadn’t felt in a while. “I have defeated you.”

You just cut off some parts. Nothing that cannot be fixed. The one who defeats me will be someone else.

Gritting his teeth, Dallion sent out a multitude of point attacks. Experience and a high body trait had gotten him used to this sort of attack, though even so, he wouldn’t be able to continue doing it nonstop.

His opponent shielded itself with its handless arm. Craters covered it all the way up to the elbow, loosening huge chunks. Sadly, that was not enough to cause it to break off, let alone harm the colossus’ torso.

It’s useless, the mountain said. None of us can lose to the other. You don’t have the strength and I don’t have the reach. It lowered its arms, turning in Dallion’s direction. Are you trying to become the architect?

“The architect?”

Dallion had heard the title mentioned in the memories of the Purple Moon’s familiar. If he remembered well, the architect had created the glorious city of the past era, long before the races had tried to take over the world. If memory served, he had also created the magic familiar himself.

He was strong… Too strong, filled with the breath, and sight, and voice of the Moons. You’re strong too, but you’re not him.

“You’re from the past.”

Correct, Speckling. I’m from the old world. I never thought there would come a time that I could be thankful to the void for helping me return.

The colossus tore off its left arm and threw it at Dallion. It was so massive that precision wasn’t of importance. Splitting into a hundred instances, Dallion cast a speed spell as he flew in dozens of directions. Ninety-seven of his instances didn’t make it. Three managed to survive. The arm of rock continued flying for several seconds more until it crashed in the distance, sending up a cloud of dust into the air.

“How did you return?” Dallion added as much calm as he could into his voice. From what he had seen, music seemed to have an effect on the being.

The barrier is thin. All it took was a strong push, and the void was strong enough. There was a time when we would fight it. Long before the banishment, we were the protectors of the world.

It was difficult to make out the exact emotions. There seemed to be regret, but not hatred. It was almost as if the colossus knew that he wouldn’t last long and wanted to experience one last fight to the fullest.

“Did you fight the architect?” Dallion asked.

Laughter echoed in his mind.

I’m too weak to fight the architect. I was but a pebble, but I too had aspirations.

“Answer me a few questions and I’ll fight you.” Dallion was taking a huge gamble. Even if the colossus were to agree, defeating him had proven more than a little challenging. Harp was right that fighting such creatures was very different in the realms. Had that been the case, Dallion would already have won.

Amusing. If the creature still had a head, he probably would be grinning. What do you want to know, pebble?

“What was the old world like?”

It was a world like this, only different. Now only specklings exist. Weak specklings…

“How do you know they’re weak?”

I’ve fought many during your awakening trials. The laws of the Moons tie us up with so many restrictions that we cannot move, and still, they can’t defeat us. Our size is reduced to yours, our skills—removed, even our weaknesses are made apparent for anyone to see.

Were the colossi that Dallion had fought this big? Gloria’s ring guardian—the first he had faced—had been a mere seven feet tall. That would make her less than one percent of her normal size.

Specklings used to be strong because they had to. Even when they were protected by the Moons, they had to pull their weight. Now, there are so many who aren’t even given the gift.

“What about the architect?”

I answered your question. Now fight as you promised. The mountain changed stance, clouds of dust rising up as his leg made a side sweep along the ground. So much for getting answers for free. At least the music seemed to have mellowed the creature a bit. The thirst for battle was still there, though slightly less aggressive.

“Two more questions,” Dallion said. The gears of his mind were turning, searching for suitable ways of attack. His most powerful strikes had proven not powerful enough, and his magic wasn’t up to a level where it could do anything better.

Agreed. One before we fight and one after. If you lose, you get only one.

One question. There were so many things Dallion wanted the answer to, but among them one had a clear priority—a question that had to do with the imminent present.

“I’ll ask both now.” Cautiously, Dallion floated towards the colossus. “After you answer the first, I’ll charge at you.” The calm that he was adding to his voice was replaced by overconfidence. “Is there a danger of more of you returning to the world?” His grip round the aura sword tightened. “And my second question. What can you tell me about the Eighth Moon?”

The Eighth Moon. Interesting that a youngling like you would know about that. Very well. Defeat me and you’ll have your answer. As for your first question, there always is a danger. There have been many times that one of us was brought here from the banished realm. Some specklings brought entire armies, no doubt more will in future. He bent his knees, ready to meet Dallion’s attack. Are you pleased with your answer?

“Yes,” Dallion lied. Learning that it wasn’t a big deal to summon such creatures, especially now, wasn’t a relief in the least. When this battle had started, he believed to be facing cultists or chainlings created by the Azures. He hadn’t expected an encounter with a monster from the old world. “Ready?”

If I had a head, I’d nod, his opponent replied.

If nothing else, that characteristic of the race remained the same: honorable, with a slight sense of humor.

Dallion split into a hundred and fifty instances, then darted straight at the colossus. His aura sword spun around, casting dozens of dual-spell combos.

Purple circles the size of houses filled the air around him. Each summoned a massive chunk of rock from the battlefield, then sped it up, launching it at the headless mountain. The speed couldn’t compare to what Lux could have achieved, but it was impressive nonetheless.

You think you can hurt me with a little bit of hail? Disappointment echoed in its voice.

Paying no notice, Dallion continued with the spellcasting. Circles of magic symbols appeared all over him, covering his body like tattoos.

Don’t, Harp said in Dallion’s realm. I can defeat him.

Dallion didn’t respond. He had gone through his plan dozens of times. Even if he didn’t defeat the mountain, there was no way for him to get harmed. This was something he had learned from Gleam: the only difference between something fragile and something indestructible was a well-placed spell.

The colossus swung to meet Dallion’s charge. Stone met indestructible, causing a thundering boom that echoed for miles. Two equal forces clashed, neither willing to give way to the other. For a split second, it was as if time stopped for all instances. This was the moment of truth: whether Dallion would break through, or be tossed away like a sparrow hit by a club.

Cracks formed on the stone arm, unable to keep up with the pressure. Shielded by his symbols of invulnerability, Dallion went on, drilling through the rock like a bullet. Half of his momentum was gone, but it didn’t matter. All he had to do was to cast a few more speed spells before he hit the colossus’ chest.

Magnificent, the mountain said. I was wrong about you.

Water erupted from the harpsisword, covering Dallion with a protective layer as he slammed into the massive cliffs in front. Moments later, thousands of streaks shot out from the colossus’ entire torso. A force greater than anything Dallion had ever seen exploded within his opponent, shattering the mountain in a single go.

VANQUISHER OF NOTHING

(+0 Awakening, +0 Body, +0 Mind, +0 Reaction, +0 Perception, +0 Empathy, +0 Magic)

You destroyed something that no longer exists.

If this had been a realm, there would have been hundreds of red rectangles, possibly an achievement as well. Since it was the real world, the rectangles were replaced by rocks flying tens of miles in all directions. Only the immediate area around Dallion was safe from flying debris.

Just like the eye of a hurricane, he thought.

Devastation was everywhere: craters, massive cracks in the ground, mounds of boulders, not to mention a newly created gorge. Taking one good look with all his instances, Dallion let them fade away, then slowly floated to the ground.

“Would I have made it?” he asked, waving his aura sword in order to start summoning his gear back to him.

The arm, yes, the harpsisword replied. The rest no.

“I see…” He sheathed his weapons one by one. “Any guesses what the achievement meant?”

That the colossus shouldn’t exist in this world.

“I saw that. Let’s hope we don’t come across other things that don’t exist.” The time for rest and complaining was over. Dallion had to find Adzorg and stop him before more things made their way into the world.