“I would apologize for having to kill you, but I am not that man, nor do I care what my future allegiances may be,” said Acu’s younger self to Arson, pointing at his older self with his bow as he did so.

Arson let the snap of the arrow he caught being crushed in his hand and the releasing of his Gestalt forms speak for him in that moment.

Thinker crawled out first, followed by Glory, Temper and finally Bloom. They formed a semi circle behind Arson as he handed his bow to Bloom, and his scythe to Jack, the living hand construct rising from his back to take the weapon.

“You think this changes anything, I was taking things easy on you, but I see now that that was unnecessary”

Arson still stayed silent, his anger rising further as he pulled out the three arrows in his body, dropping them to the rooftop. He then clenched his fist as he drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes and focusing on the rush of mana that filled his veins when he called for it.

The tribal suns that flickered across his eyelids sprung to life as his Closed Eye Dominion expanded outward, and he spawned a conductive water orb in each hand, flowing the skill with energy.

“You’re going to wish you never fought me” said Arson, his Gestalt forms all taking offensive stances. A bow drawn, a shield raised, a stance widened, and a book opened as Thinker began to speak.

“Weaknesses include an injury in his bow arm, a stutter when starting and stopping his movement technique, a delay between his third and fourth arrow when rapid firing, a—“

Glory moved, blocking an arrow from striking Thinker in the face. His grin massive as he moved to stand in front of the bookish doppelgänger, giving Thinker a nod to continue as the other Gestalt forms moved to begin their own offensives.

“high perception, with a lack of rear awareness,” continued Thinker breaking down Arson’s opponent.

The younger Acu’s eyes began to flicker about, trying to keep all the doppelgängers and Arson in his vision at once, stepping backward to gain a wider range of the area. Arson whistled, drawing Acu’s attention back to him, pointing toward his own face before he spoke, a pulse of mana rippling outward as he began flexing his power.

“Eyes on the prize, buddy” Arson said, and in the very same moment his eyes were met by his Master’s younger self, Bloom shot his first arrow.

“Boom,” Bloom said, conjuring another arrow made from pure mana and runes. When the arrow was shot, it exploded sending out a concussive wave that blasted the younger Acu off his feet.

Arson moved, vanishing from where he stood to appear above the young bowman, smashing one of the two conductive water orbs he held into his chest. Lightning lashed out in a halo as the skill exploded. His opponent’s body jerked violently as his victim struggled to draw his bow string back.

Temper appeared the moment the young bowman’s back hit the ground, pulling away the arrow he held before Arson’s opponent could shoot. Arson proceeded to strike the younger Acu with the second conductive water orb, summoning a third in his free hand.

“Boom!”

Arson and Temper heard Bloom and both dove away, another runic arrow sailing right toward the wide-eyed Acu; the young bowman tried jumping to his feet as Bloom’s arrow exploded.

The young man was shot upward, sailing end over end until Glory jumped, wrapping a hand around the bowman’s ankle, yanking him downward with a heave.

The young Acu tried to twist mid air in an attempt to gain freedom, but Jack swooped just beside Glory, swiping at the open air around the young bowman to restrict his movements.

Glory then twisted in the air, driving his shield into the younger Acu’s chest, causing them both to plummet at accelerated speeds.

Acu’s younger self struggled, yelling in panic, as he couldn’t see where Arson and Temper were located, but in his periphery he could see Bloom drawing back another runic arrow.

“Bloody scoundrels, you fight like vermin!”

Glory laughed, smashing the younger Acu into the ground, rolling away to reveal Temper and Arson following up with attacks of their own. Temper landed on his chest, using him like a spring board to jump away before Arson smashed into him with another conductive water orb.

“I’ll show you why vermin are feared” said Arson as Jack swung the scythe down on the younger Acu; the weapon’s blade piercing their flailing opponent as the conductive water orb electrocuted their target.

Arson then shot up into the air, accompanied by Jack, both flying upward a mere blink before Bloom’s next arrow was shot.

“Son of a—“

The young Acu was shot in the arm, the explosion flinging him aside like a rag doll. The entire first floor of the building he was sent hurtling into crumbled, bringing down the entire structure.

Arson’s opponent found himself battered and bruised, laying in rubble with one less arm than he had before, his bow nowhere to be found. He groaned, dazed and confused by the incredible amount of pain sending signals to his brain from all over his body, all at once.

Matters only got worse for him as he was once more pierced through the shoulder by the scythe wielding Jack; the Living Hand Construct pinning him to the broken cobbles below. young Acu cursed, unaware that everything around him had begun to tremble violently.

He tried to stand, but failed completely, the pain of the blade in his shoulder making any and all movement agonizing. Then he heard a roar coming from above him. Glancing upward his eyes gaped again, as Arson once more dropped from above, soaring toward him with speed that visibly boomed as the sound barrier was broken. Two conductive water orbs held outright the first points of contact as Arson collided with him.

The explosion was massive, lightning discharging in a chaotic spiral that disintegrated the buildings closest to them. The ground levels of all the surrounding multi-tiered shops destroyed in an instant; more than ten buildings falling over in a circle around them like knocked over dominos stacked in a chain.

Arson stood up, his breaths heavy as he bent over to pull his barely breathing opponent up by the collar of his tunic, glaring at his Master’s younger self as he blinked up at him groggily.

Arson stood over his future master, slapping him awake, shaking him vigorously in annoyance. He really hadn’t liked being shot, nor spoken down to, but had a feeling that he couldn’t kill the young Acu, somehow sensing that the young bowman wasn’t a projection or conjuration of mana and energy.

His body feels nothing like Jack, or even my growing Gestalt forms…

“Wha… what's happening?”

“You're bleeding out and need to leave this dungeon, now…”

Arson left no option in his voice, watching the young man pull a familiar stone from his pocket. Acu almost crushing the stone, pausing, his eyes darting around as he looked for something.

“My father’s bow, where is it?”

Arson closed his eyes, finding the young Acu’s bow underneath nearby rubble.

He lifted a hand upward and Jack dropped his scythe into his hand before the Living Hand Construct moved to go and retrieve the bow. It took a moment as the rubble was large and shifting, but soon the Construct dropped the bow around the young bowman’s neck.

“Thank you,” offered the young bowman with a nod, Arson only glaring back at first as the young Acu stared strangely back at Arson.

“Leave…”

The stone was then crushed and the young Acu vanished, leaving Arson holding nothing but a building fury and pain shooting down his spine as Carter Omni’s rune began to hum with discordant power.

“Give me a bloody break!”

…

“Looks like our time is almost up,” said the Elder Arson, looking between the exploding buildings in the distance and Acu.

“Let's just be glad that neither one of us triggered the other’s bloodlines, one of us may have died in that fight,” continued the Elder Arson. Acu looked toward the destruction in the distance, and back toward Arson.

“What are you?” Acu trailed off as a dazzling set of ethereal wings sprouted from the elder Arson’s back in a flash. The wingspan was double Acu’s own height, and a literal universe’s worth of stars could be seen moving within the angelic feathers.

Before Acu knew what happened the wings were gone, and Acu was able to breathe once more. Unaware that he’d even stopped breathing, or that his own shadow had been mountainous while cast behind him from the light of the wings of the man before him, Acu blinked the black spots from his eyes.

What is this man, it was as if I’d just tried to look directly at the sun.

“You need to leave Origin River, the sooner the better,” said the Elder Arson. He stood up and the crowd of people around Acu all stepped away to return to the man’s portal-like shadow.

Acu tried to speak up, but a pressure fell upon his shoulders with the weight of a building. The elder Arson smiled at Acu as another figure made of pure light emerged from his shadow. A beautiful woman with a halo and billowing dress lifting into the air behind him, stretching her arms out wide.

The beauty of the woman was unrivaled. Her very aura stretching reality as she grew, light rippling off her body in visible waves that ripped space, giving glimpses into other realms and dimensions through the tears.

“Don't feel bad either, by the way, you did your best with me, and no one could ask you for anything more. Embers, even what you’ve done so far was never something you should have felt responsible for, but just know I love you, and what I’m about to do is not your fault. Let's just say that you are far more pure than the rest of my influences.”

The goddess above the elder Arson dipped slightly in the air, wrapping her arms around him, and in less than a blink, he vanished, leaving Acu wondering what he was talking about.

…

Arson had been making his way toward Acu when a surprising notification popped into his vision. He felt an incredible aura and before he could even react he found himself once more standing in the staging area for the Ad Infinitum.

*Broken trial survived: You have survived a trial with an entity outside the confines of the system and laws of creation. For this alone you have been infused with enriched mana that will slowly grow the depths of the mana pools held within your cores. Tread carefully, Tested Godling, touching the sun is far more dangerous than bathing in its brilliance.*

Arson looked around at the room full of people, only then realizing that everyone was staring at him, unmoving. The lingering effects of the aura that had permeated throughout the trial, managed to spill through the energies that transported both he and Acu back to stand before the dungeon portal they’d entered, leaving all there frozen in absolute fear over the overwhelming sensations that had flooded through.

Arson wanted to say something to lighten the tension he could sense in the room, but the ever growing pain that surged through his body was stealing his ability to think straight. He gritted his teeth, barely able to think as he lifted off the ground, levitating in an effort to fly toward where he’d been told he needed to return once Carter called.

“I’m sorry, Master, I must go.”

A sonic boom clapped throughout the cavernous room as Arson jetted from the area, floating there one moment and gone in the very next blink.

He flew at reckless speeds as the pain caused his eyes to water; the sensation growing so unbearable that he felt the urge to rip his skin from his body in protest of the rising agony crawling beneath his muscles down to the bone.

He didn’t know he’d arrived until he’d opened his eyes, blinking blood from the corners of his vision. He found himself back in the alley Carter had originally detained him, lying in a small crater. Only then aware that he must have crash landed, sitting up as he rubbed his throbbing head.

A laugh came from behind Arson and he turned his head to see Carter standing at the edge of the crater laughing down at him.

“Took you long enough, boy…”

“You sure this youngling is capable of destroying a seal, I know we are on a timeline but we aren’t that desperate, are we,” asked Almarine, stepping from the shadows in a way that Arson had only ever seen Khalif manage. The woman’s smile gave Arson chills as she ran a hand enveloped in green flames through her hair.

“I’ll use whatever tactics I please, sister, and how you can comment knowing how many more seals I’ve managed to destroy compared to you is laughable.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, keep using these broken little toys of yours and see how quickly one of them fails you when you need it the most.”

“Ha,” laughed Carter, looking at Arson, the only segments of his face visible his eyes and smile.

“Nooo… you wouldn’t dare fail me, now would you…?

Arson shook his head, feeling he would do or say anything to avoid the pain he’d just been subjected to.

Going to have to find a way to get rid of that rune as soon as bloody possible.

“You see, broken or not, I can make this youngster get the job done with a little coaching and elbow grease,” said Carter, Almarine rolled her eyes at him.

“Let’s hurry this up, old man, I’m tired of this accursed place, and know that Promethia is ready to be done dealing with this sparking sinkhole,” said Almarine, looking around the alley with narrowed eyes. Carter noticed the strange look on his sister’s face and nudged her on the shoulder, grabbing her attention as she swatted his hand away.

“What?”

“Don’t you what me, woman. What is wrong with you?” asked Carter.

“It's nothing... I keep forgetting your senses are dulled while you are in this state, I keep smelling celestial energy, but its faint, it must be coming from the dimension within the city, we are bound to see the effects of our work the more of the prison we break down.”

Arson’s brow furrowed, his mind working to decipher what the two Ancients were discussing. However, the longer he thought about it the more questions were birthed in his mind.

He wanted to know what a celestial was first and foremost, only having a few guesses. As well as what kind of prison the pair could be talking about, but felt that if he kept his mouth shut and listened he’d have more of a chance to learn from them than if he spoke up and simply asked.

Almarine has always been secretive, glad to know that it wasn’t something raising us orphans forced upon her.

A snapped finger in front of Arson’s face pulled him from his thoughts. Almarine chuckling as Carter frowned down at him.

“Yeah… I’m sure this idiot is going to bungle up any plan you force on him,” said Almarine, shaking her head slowly as Arson stood.

“May I remind you that this idiot, as you are calling him, drank from your soul as if you had no spiritual, mental or even runic defenses,” said Carter. Almarine glared at Arson.

Even if I did want to take my time here, I no longer think I safely can.

Arson's skin crawled from the menacing look he received in that moment.

He’d faced many perilous situations since being in the Endless trials, but none as fear-inducing as having to face down the woman that raised him from infancy.

We’ll see,” Almarine said, before her body exploded into a cloud of green flames, her body reforming on an adjacent roof out of the burst of fire that had washed over the entire alley.

“Sparks, that is cool…”

“Yes, child, it is, but you have bigger things to worry about, drooling over my sister will get you nothing but maimed or killed.”

Arson nodded, feeling the words to be both gross and powerfully true.

No problem, old man, she’s pretty much my mother, and my heart is… claimed.

He fought not to focus on Troy, waiting patiently for Carter to tell him what his next move was. When the man spoke up, however, Arson would have never guessed that the interaction would shift in magnitude in a mere moment.

“Okay boy,” said Carter, putting a hand on Arson’s shoulder and leaning in as he spoke.

“Are you ready to burn this city to the ground?”