Ten Years Later.

Sitting before a large lake in an unknown space, a white-haired old man in a white robe continuously stroked his long beard as though he was waiting for something. Behind him, a silvery tiger paced back and forth impatiently, also seemingly waiting for something.

A few minutes later, as though rewarding their patience, ripples began to appear on the surface of the lake.

"About time, I thought I would be here until these old bones of mine turned to dust," said the Old Man as he stood up and stretched his waist.

With a low growl, the silvery tiger approached the lake's shore staring into its waters.

The ripples on the lake's surface rapidly began to grow in size and intensity until they started to form meter tall waves. As the waves neared the area where the Old Man and tiger stood, they immediately died down.

Abruptly the surface of the lake broke in a giant splash as a golden-haired youth with a streak of white hair leaped out as though running from something. A few moments later, a massive red serpent leaped out, opening its large mouth as it prepared to swallow the youth whole.

On the shore of the lake, an excited look flashed in the Old Man's silver eyes as he clapped his hands together. "Excellent job Arthur, I thought I would go insane from my craving!"

As the Old Man's palms came together, a white halo ring appeared around the neck of the snake. With a puff, the head of the snake separated from its body. Due to the sudden loss of its head, the body of the serpent lost all momentum and began to fall. As it fell, huge waves crashed unto the lake's shores; however, during the brief moment of its decapitation and descent, gushes of blood spurted from its arteries painting the surroundings red.

Landing next to the old man, Arthur, now covered in blood, threw the old man a disapproving gaze.

Shrugging off Arthur's gaze, the old man took a step forward, and with a 'come here' motion, the corpse of the red snake floated towards him.

Suddenly seeming to remember something, Arthur began to turn around in circles. "Oh, crap! Where is Excalibur?"

"Language, Arthur!"

"Sorry."

As though responding to Arthur's call, a slight movement appeared in the severed snake's body.

However, due to the slight movement, the body squirted another round of blood as a small cuboid made of smaller cubes floated out of an artery. The cuboid, after stabilizing itself, released a little burst of energy, cleaning itself of the blood. After a few quick movements, a small dark sphere appeared at the center of the cuboid along with a soft blue diamond-shaped light*.

[*Honestly, it's best if you imagine Excalibur's cube form as a Destiny's ghost shell.]

"Excalibur!"

In a slightly robotic voice, the cuboid spoke."You! You left me!"

"What? No, I didn't. I thought you were right behind the whole time."

With a roll of its eye, Excalibur turned not wanting to face Arthur anymore."Suurre."

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"Aw, come on Cal, don't be like that, if anything, it's gramps fault."

"Don't drag me into this, accept the responsibility of your actions." Said the old man while he pooled the blood of the serpent together, seemingly forming a red bead.

Walking to face Excalibur, Arthur cupped him in his hands," I am sorry, Cal, I promise I will never abandon you again."

Hearing Arthur's words, Cal's blue diamond grew a bit brighter," promise?"

"Promise!"

Hearing Excalibur and Arthur's talk, the silvery tiger that had been staring fixedly at the red bead the old man was forming came and stroked Arthur's legs.

Laughing at the tiger's antics, Arthur also promised. "I will never abandon you either, Aegon."

Seemingly finished extracting the serpent's blood, the old man spoke. "All right now that everyone is friends again; let's have lunch."

As his words ended, the vast body of the serpent was split into large sections. With a snap of his fingers, the smell of roasted meat began to permeate the area. And with another snap, a small ball of energy shot towards Excalibur and the blood bead of the serpent shot towards Aegon's open mouth. Closing his eyes, Aegon began to absorb the energy within the blood.

Looking at Aegon's contented look, the old man nodded his head and thought, 'he should be evolving soon.'

Wasting no time, Arthur stretched out a hand and grabbed a large section of the roasted serpent and began to take mouthfuls.

Watching Arthur virtually breath in the food, the old man smiled as a hint of sadness danced in his eyes. With a sigh, he spoke," The time has come, Arthur!"

Hearing the old man's solemn word, Arthur paused.

"Though I enjoyed raising you as my own child, I must let you return to you to your original realm."

With a somber voice, Arthur asked," Am I ready?"

The old man smiled," lets finishing eating first, and we will find out."

With a deep breath, Arthur calmed his roiling emotions.

A while later, everyone finished eating. They all calmly began to meditate as their meals digested. Surprisingly though the old man and Arthur were able to consume the thirty-meter long giant red serpent. Looking at their slight frames, one couldn't help but wonder where it all went.

Half an hour later, Arthur with Excalibur floating beside him stood across from the old man in a clearing near the lake. In a tree outside of the clearing, Aegon lazily laid on a branch watching the upcoming spar with interest.

The old man grinned," shall we begin?"

With a nod, Arthur called out, "Excalibur!"

Immediately, Excalibur turned into light and formed into the shape of a sword. As the light began to dissipate as a silvery blade edged with gold appeared. Traveling from the tip to the crossguard, reddish-gold runes graced the groove in the middle of the blade. Looking at Excalibur's crossguard, it was a bit unique. From his red leather hilt, his crossguard made of golden metal and was molded to form a blooming flame as it rose from the hilt and met the blade. At the end of the hilt, the pommel was a free-floating diamond that occasionally brightened.

As Excalibur formed, Arthur immediately dashed towards the old man with a downward diagonal slash.

With minimal movements, the old man sidestepped the slash while pointing his right index finger at Arthur.

Boom!

As the old man's figure made contact with Arthur's shoulder, the latter was forcefully sent sprawling backward.

"Tsk, tsk, have you forgotten everything I have thought you?"

Standing back up, Arthur calmed his breathing and refocused on the old man.

Step.

With a sudden burst of speed, almost instantaneously, Arthur appeared behind the old and proceed with another slash.

Without turning around, the Old Man laughed as he stopped the descending sword with a finger.

Step.

Arthur again disappeared, this time reappearing a bit further away from the old man. The moment his foot touched down, he disappeared again, reappearing beside the old mad, sending a significantly more powerful slash.

Cut.

Blocking the sword with a finger again. The old man counterattacked by sending a palm at Arthur. Just as the palm was about to make contact, the air in front of Arthur slightly shimmered, stopping the palm from making contact.

Block.

Like this, Arthur continuously disappeared and reappeared in his attempt to break through the old man's guard. Each assault, however, was continuously thwarted by the Old Man.

Akin to a beautiful dance, Arthur and the old man moved all over the clearing uprooting grass and earth as they went.

After a while, Arthur pulled back, raggedly breathing.

Smiling, the old man appeared before him as he sent a palm towards his chest," it seems that you are at your limit."

Watching the palm fly towards him, something in Arthur opened.

Bang.