[ T: 4 Days 6 Hours]

The Obsidian Skeleton rouses, having not moved from its position, standing. During the many hours of waiting, both sides, the Ornamentally decorated knights, their skeletal man at arms and the Obsidian Skeleton had not moved at all. Now, however, even the knights move their once unwavering gaze, looking at one another. The Obsidian Skeleton tilts its head to one head. The Ornamental knight in the center speaks, its voice echoing. “I see that you have felt it as well. It appears that diplomacy between our two masters have failed.” The knight pauses, “However the negotiation that failed was simply a request for non-aggression. Our masters have not declared war, and therefore there is no need for us pieces to-”, the knight stops as the Obsidian Skeleton strides forward and punches a Skeleton at Arms in the face. The Skeleton at Arms staggers backwards, its comrades behind it moving to hold it up. All the Skeletons at Arms ready their shields, draw their weapons and fall out of their formative columns to face the Obsidian Skeleton. The Ornamental Knight has fallen silent, and all seven Ornamental Knights watch.

The Obsidian Skeleton raises its skull up, then lets it drop. The dropping of its skull makes its mouth seem to curve slightly upwards, as if it is smiling a dark and dangerous smile. The Skeletons at Arms do not move to attack, merely trying to surround the Obsidian Skeleton. The Obsidian Skeleton looks left and right and before it can be fully enclosed upon it strikes another blow into another Skeleton at Arms. There is a visible dent in the helm it is wearing. The Skeletons at Arms push forward on all sides with their shields raised, and as they fully surround their foe they make even smaller the pocket which the Obsidian Skeleton has available. The Skeletons at Arms push against him on all sides much like how a footballer pushes against another footballer in a football game, however the skeletons are also smashing their weapons into the Obsidian Skeleton, their weapons making shrill clanking sounds where sharp weapons strike it, and low-toned yet loudly thunderous ringing noises where blunt weapons strike it.

The Obsidian Skeleton thrusts out with both arms, pushing against them, in order to create more room for himself, and when it gets the room it lashes out. It is apparent that the power of the Obsidian Skeleton has changed with that single punch. Different to previous strikes this one creates an impact so huge that the Skeleton in Arms struck gets sent backwards into its comrades and anything the struck skeleton hits gets flying backwards. An Ornamented Knight looks down at the Skeleton in Arms that had been struck. The chest plate is badly dented, so dented in fact that the metal has ripped apart slightly. The Ornamented Knight looks back at the Obsidian Skeleton.

The Skeletons in Arms reform and continue their shield wall pushing against it tight from all directions and striking it from behind the cover of their shields, the strikes every single time creating a hum, high and low, from the impact. The Obsidian Skeleton continues to swing its arms around, every swing sending several flying, each blow creating rips and tears on the armors of those struck by the primary contact. The high tones and low tones of humming grow louder as the Obsidian Skeleton continues to be struck, with futility from the Skeletons in Arms. And the strength and power of the Obsidian Skeleton’s strikes grow and grow, until now entire chest plates explode open and the bones within shatter. A Skeleton in Arms flies and lands in front, at the feet of one of the seven Ornamented Knights. It looks down. Then it slowly turns its gaze at the Ornamented Knight standing within the center of the group. The difference in power from the beginning of the battle and the power, the Obsidian Skeleton is now exhibiting, is in contrast very different. The Ornamented Knight at the center gazes back at the Knight at the side. The Knight at the side stiffens up and grips its weapon. The Knight at the center raises its gauntlet slightly, telling the Knight at the side to wait. The Knight at the center turns its attention back to the battle, its gauntlet still up.

The Skeletons at Arms stop attacking. They still keep the shield wall up pushing against the Obsidian Skeleton, while the Obsidian Skeleton continues to fling them aside, destroying the armors they are in, in the process. However, now with each swing the power of the Obsidian Skeleton starts dropping. First, the humming sound and vibration of the Obsidian Skeleton dims down, then the armors of those struck by the Obsidian Skeleton stop exploding open. After a few more strikes the armors stopped ripping and tearing. Then, finally the armors struck only start to get dented, and the humming and vibrating of the Obsidian Skeleton stops.

The Ornamented Knight at the center turns once more at the Ornamented Knight at the side. The Ornamented Knight at the side loosens its grip on its weapon, and relaxes. The Ornamented Knight at the center slowly withdraws its gauntlet, letting it calmly fall back down. The seven Ornamented Knights continue to observe as the Skeletons in Arms push with their shields herding the Obsidian Skeleton out towards the doors of the building. The Obsidian Skeleton tries in vain to smash them off it, hammering at the fully plated Skeletons at Arms and attempting to push and throw them off of it, but it no longer has the impact it once had and fails to push the Skeletons at Arms off of it. As the Ornamented Knights watch, the Obsidian Skeleton gets driven out of the building. Outside, the Skeletons at Arms continue to push and herd the Obsidian Skeleton around the side of the great building.

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One of the Ornamented Knights turns to its comrades, “That is a dangerous thing to have as an enemy. The question is… what is it and why is it our enemy?” The Ornamented Knight at the center answers its comrade, “That thing is a product of the past, come back to haunt our master.”

The same Ornamented Knight who asked before asks again, “The one we serve as our master, or OUR master? The master of our master, who we serve as our true master?

The Ornamented Knight answers, “The one whom our true master ordered that we serve for the time being”.

The Ornamental Knight Who Asks, asks, “Then you know this- thing?”

Ornamental Knight at the Center: I do. It is a product of powerful magic, far more ancient than the master, or even our true master. I do not know further than that, except that the masters of their race are restricted, limited and unable to interfere with the world like our master, and even OUR master is limited in what he can do.

The Ornamental Knight Who Asks: And you know why this thing, this product of great magic, whose masters are apparently more powerful than our master, is targeting our master?

Ornamental Knight at the Center: I might. I might not. I know too little to even admit that I have an idea. There is nothing more to say. I think I know, but I don’t really know.

The Ornamental Knight at the Center walks toward the great doors and the others follow it. They walk on the path, around the side of the temple, through what was once a garden for the temple grounds until they reach the end, where the walls have fallen and crumbled, where the back of the pyramid town is just a flat stone block cliff, and the temple grounds is right on top of that flat cliff.

The Ornamental Knights arrive as the Obsidian Skeleton is pushed and shoved by a hundred Skeletons in Arms, the other Skeletons in Arms ready to move in to help even further if need be. And the Obsidian Skeleton is struggling as hard as it can. It can not be destroyed by any means it appears, but it simply lacks the means to destroy anything in return at its current state. And so, it struggles.

The Ornamental Knight at the center watches a while as the Obsidian Skeleton continues to get pushed, “We are leaving”, it announces finally.

The Knight at the side asks, “But what about that?”

The Knight at the center answers, “We can do nothing to it. Push it off the heights. We are leaving this place.” The Knight at the center turns and leaves and the others follow. The Knight Who Asks, ponders, “I wonder…”

The Knight at the side asks, “You wonder?”

The Knight Who Asks repeats, “I wonder… would OUR weapons, if we were to combat that thing, would OUR weapons emerge victorious, or would its body emerge unscathed even to OUR weapons.”

The Knight at the side answers, “That is a question that we can continue to ponder upon today and tomorrow and remain interested in. But today, it appears we will not be finding out.”

The Knight Who Asks turns and sees the Obsidian Skeleton finally running out of room, pushed relentlessly by the Skeletons in Arms, slipping and falling into the lake behind the Pyramid Town. The Knight At The Side continues to follow its comrades and the Knight Who Asks turns back and follows as well.

As the Obsidian Skeleton falls it hits the side of the stone block cliff of the Pyramid Town bouncing off of it. It looks up as it falls seeing the Skeletons at Arms take a single look and then disappear as they walk away. The Obsidian Skeleton lands in the lake and it continues to stare up as it sinks down the lake. It sinks further and further down the lake, its arms and legs pointed towards the surface, its body sinking like a rock. And as it sees the surface of the lake getting further and further away, a current picks up the Obsidian Skeleton and carries it away.