On a high up balcony in the city of Bathal, a man stands by himself, admiring the stars. This man was tall, his gray hair flowing in the night time wind. His eyes, swirling masses of black and white, glinting in the moonlight like priceless gems. Wings sprouted from his back, a mix of black and white pristine feathers stretching a full eight feet out, billowing in the breeze.

To the residents of Bathal, and the whole of Altera as well, this man was known by many names. The Lost King, The Weapons Master, The God Slayer. Those names and so many more were talked about by so many people. But only one name, known by a select few, was the real one.

Maximilian raised his hands up to his horns, foot long protrusions from his head. He was going to miss this, he realized. Chuckling to himself he mentally called up a screen in front of him. Its warm glow was soothing as it displayed a countdown.

“Only ten more hours huh Old Man?” A female voice from behind him called out. He turned to see Samantha, one of his companions for the last five hundred or so years. She stood only about four feet tall, a whole two and a half feet shorter than him. Her hair, a black with veins of red flowing through it, blowed behind her. This plus her short height hinted at her race. She was a Core Dwarf, a rare variant with unmatched strength and constitution. The Bulwark. Her skill with a hammer and shield were unmatched only by him.

“Yeah, it’s weird isn’t it. All this time and only a few hours have passed in the other world.” He laughed quietly to himself, he already knew what her response would be. And her slight admonishing frown proved it.

“The real world. I know after a while it doesn’t seem like it. Hell, you would know that more than anyone. But this isn’t real. It’s all fake.” Even if he expected the words, it still hurt. He knew he couldn’t change her mind, she’s stubborn. But to hear that after all he’s been through made him frustrated. If it really is just fantasy, then had the hardships been for nothing, all the pain, all the loss. Had it been pointless?

“Hey Maxxy, you’re starting to brood again. And on such a momentous night too!” “Yeah, only you could find the chance to be sad when you should be happy!”

The two voices belonged to two of the three remaining companions of his. The first one was the youngest of their group, Sebastian. His fancy multi colored clothes matched his scales quite nicely. From the smell coming off of him, he was out partying with some girls, impressing them with his magic. Only he could think of some of the worlds strongest magic, wielded by The Archmage, as a way to score chicks. But even though he’s the youngest of the group at three hundred, the others are used to him.

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The second voice came from none other than the second oldest of the group, after Max himself. Damien looked to be around ten or eleven, but in reality he’s around three thousand. He still acts like a child though, and that coupled by his white hair and fox ears, along with his tail, make him pretty adorable. Sebastian probably brought him along to attract more women. If they knew who he was, The Shadow, the deadliest rouge in the world, they might have run away instead.

“Hey you two, come here to crowd up my balcony again?” Max smiled, these two always seemed to cheer him up when he was grumpy. Samantha would try to beat the sadness out of him, and their fifth member, Michael, would go all therapist on him and try to figure out what the source of his sadness was. He wanted to laugh, not contemplate god dammit!

And as if summoned from the depths of hell, their final member arrived. The Healer. “They’re just here because their night of bar hopping proved fruitless” The elven man said, a smirk on his face.

“That’s not true!” They both shouted in response. Just like they always did when Michael teased them. Sebastian because he was annoyed and Damien because it was what Sebastian was doing.

Max’s quiet laughter grew into a full on belly laugh. This. This is what he was going to miss. The group, his group. Who knew if they would actually be able to meet up together in the other world. He hoped so but life wasn’t always fair. He knew that very well.

The five of them joked together for the rest of their time in this world. By the final hour they were all sitting together for what could have been the last time. A somber mood filled the air. Max’s thoughts were interrupted by Damien.

“Is this it for us?” He asked no one in particular. That hit Max hard. Damien was the happiest one in their group, even though he’s over thousands of years old, even though he’s killed hundreds, he was still filled with childlike wonder. If even he was like this, was it really the end?

“No, NO! I won’t let this be the end for us! Even if it’s the last thing I do we are going to be a group forever!” Samantha stood up from her chair. Even though Damien was the child, she was always the one who believed that everything would work out. And somehow, with her saying these words, Max felt that it might not be the end. There was always a chance they could meet again. And Samantha was a force of nature when she set her mind to something.

As the time went from minutes to seconds, Max smiled again. He was leaving Altera behind. He was going back to Earth, back to his family, and back to being human. And while he wasn’t exactly ecstatic about it, he still wanted to see those he had missed all these years. Maximilian the God Slayer, Weapons Master, and Lost King, closed his eyes, and the world went black.