The Bone Arena
The hovercraft was massive and barreled deeper into the city. Barsool sat in the center of the craft, facing Nameless. General Tygo sat on Nameless’s left. As the buildings whisked past them, he wondered what was in store for him. They had been very vague about it, not saying much more than Rachel and Nameless needed to power up. Whatever that meant.
The aircraft slowed to a hover. From the view out the window, they were in the middle of the city. The aircraft began to descend straight down at an uncomfortable speed. His stomach rolled a bit, uneased at how the ground was approaching them. Soon the ground level came into view, then flowed past the window, startling Nameless. They were going underground.
Barsool cleared his throat.
“Arcturios believes you and Rachel are the original paradigms of Armenium. Mistress Anna has also backed this claim. We have yet to believe this for ourselves.”
“You could have asked me,” Nameless laughed.
“Are you Aryus?” Tygo growled.
Nameless gulped but nodded firmly.
“He failed on the battlefield. The King of old would not have been beaten so easily,” Tygo snarled.
“He is just a boy,” Barsool waved his hand.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To Aryus,” General Tygo grinned.
Fear and confusion filled Nameless. He had been Aryus; what did they mean by this? What lay in store? Outside the window, there was darkness except for the passing of lights attached to the tunnel walls. Deeper and deeper, they descended into the bowels of the planet. Finally, the ship shuttered and stopped. Barsool and Tygo stood, Nameless hesitantly doing so as well.
“The great Aryus imprinted his personality and memories into artificial intelligence. That mechanical spirit now resides deep in the bowels of our city, waiting for its master's next incarnation. If you are truly Aryus incarnate, then you shall return to us stronger than ever, ready to lead the legions to Zion.”
“Or you will not return. And we will have our answer,” Tygo shrugged.
“Be warned. Many noblemen’s sons have claimed to be our rightful liege, yet none have returned from finding the A.I. Go and secure your future, or do not come back,” Barsool grunted.
The door to the craft opened, the stale air of the undercity whooshing in. Barsool gestured, and Nameless gulped. He stood in the doorway, the damp concrete and darkness reminding him of the gutter of Oasis. He slowly walked down the row of seats, his stomach dropped, his heart beating fast. Suddenly, Nameless was flung from the craft with intense pressure on his back. With a gut-clenching smack, he landed on the concrete.
General Tygo chuckled in the doorway as the shuttle lifted off the ground, rising back towards the surface. Nameless covered his head as the engines roared as the shuttle lifted off, and water went everywhere. Soon the shuttle was gone, and he was left alone in the near darkness.
Nameless pulled out his pistol, igniting the gunlight, and scanned around him. He was in some sort of dark, circular chamber. An open causeway stood in the left wall, with no light or sound coming. Slowly, he walked into the darkness, his flashlight being the only light source. The hairs on his arms and neck stood up; he wasn’t alone.
He thought about igniting his energy, but whatever was down here with him might jump out and attack. At least this way, he might have the element of surprise. Down he went, further into the corridor. After several turns, he came to an intersection. Nameless took a left, a few more tunnels, turns, and another tunnel meeting. Irritation rose within him.
Another intersection. He took a right, this time going down some stairs, crossing a metal catwalk bridge over an underground river, then had to climb over a wall. Nameless grunted in frustration; this place was a maze.
Nameless moved on, deeper and deeper into the labyrinth. Soon, he realized he was lost. Despair and anger filled him as he paced back and forth. He had no map, no extra food or water. It was just him and his weapons. What had he done to deserve this? He had come to these crazy people for help.
Howling sounded out in the maze. Nameless turned off his flashlight, crouching down next to the wall. Finger on the trigger, his energy ready to deploy, his other hand firmly grasping his thermal knife. He slowed his breathing, his body shaking. The howling, a deep, guttural sound that shook the walls, sounded again.
A flicker of light caught his attention. Nameless turned to see a red light coming out of a door in the corner. He gritted his teeth. If he was going to die down here, it would be as a man. Nameless slowly stood and walked over to the doorway. With a deep exhale, he entered.
On the other side of the doorway was a long hallway, too wide to touch with both arms raised to either side. Nameless slowly began to move forward. Unlit torches stuck out from metal fastest in the walls. Within the blink of an eye, the torches burst into red flame. Nameless shouted, startled, and sprinted ahead.
He emerged from the now-lit hallway into a massive arena. The area was lit by four giant burning bonfires and torches hanging from the ceiling chains. Skulls and bones littered the floor, the tiered benches and seats mostly broke and rotted away. Weapons and armor of all kinds, old and new, littered the ground.
Nameless did a slow spin, taking in the entire arena with an open mouth. In the far-right corner, he noticed where the bleachers met the ceiling, crouched some human-looking figure. Even from such a far distance, he could see the massive body. The figure slowly stood up and began walking down the bleachers. Nameless stowed his pistol, perhaps he could talk his way out of this.
“I am Aryus!” Nameless called out to the figure as it silently strolled down.
“Liar,” The figure called in a voice that sounded like a fork scraping a plate.
“I do not want to hurt you.”
“I want to hurt you.”
“Fuck my life.”
Nameless ignited his energy, gold flame lapping from his body, his golden lance twirling in his right hand. He studied the figure as it approached, noticing its flabby skin and odd posture. He wasn’t so scary after all. Nameless wouldn’t kill this poor guy; the man probably just needed a friend after being stuck down here in the dark. With a sigh of relief, Nameless brushed the dust off his body. Nameless wondered what he’d have for dinner.
Nameless grinned at the thought of more fantastic food and looked up again as the man came closer. His grin melted away. The “man” was a seven-foot-tall metal figure, wearing old and worn human skin as clothes. His eyes were red disks, his human-like metal mouth full of razor-sharp fangs. A belt made of human entrails was wrapped around his waist, two human bones sharpened seemingly by teeth into picks. Presumably to be used as swords.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Nameless squeaked.
The figure emerged out unto the arena.
“I have waited here, guarding my master’s secrets. And I will continue to wait here until my master returns,” The Ai trapped in a metal body crackled.
“Suprise! I’m back, buddy,” Nameless half-heartedly joked.
“You are not my master. You are not Aryus. You are a pulsing bag of flesh that I will use to lubricate my parts and make new furnishings.”
“Wow, they really left you down here for a minute, haven't they, pal.”
“It has been nine thousand eight hundred seventy-five years, three hundred forty-five days, sixteen hours, forty-five minutes, thirty-seven seconds since Lord Aryus’s disciples bestowed his secrets into my chest and left me here to guard them. I am the last of my kind, the first put here to guard my masters secrets when Armenium was founded.”
“Yeah. Well, you look great! And they say computers can’t go insane,” Nameless chuckled.
“I was designed this way.”
“Right,” Nameless nodded.
If Nameless really had designed this thing like this in a past life and left it here, then no wonder his current life was so crap now. It was just basic karma. What kind of sick bastard had Aryus been anyway, Nameless wondered. Was he capable of being just as bad as this Aryus had clearly been?
The robot drew his human bone swords.
Nameless leveled his spear.
“Let’s dance,” Nameless grunted.
The two charged each other. The robot leaped over Nameless’s head, throwing a multitude of bone darts. Nameless rolled to the side, forming a shield. He pushed off the ground, lunging for the robot. The robot dodged midair, twisting it’s body, and brought down a bone spike. The spike went through the fire, stabbing Nameless in the left arm.
Nameless roared, jumping back away. He saw the smoke rise from the bone sword as the robot bore them, readying to charge. Nameless set forward, beating the robot to it, planting his shield into the robot’s chest. But instead of flying back, the robot’s metal frame absorbed the force, merely some of the human skin being ripped off and floating away with the wind of the impact.
The robot attacked with both spikes at differing angles, his cogs, and gears perfectly balanced and focused so it could push both hands together like a pincer. The robot uppercut with a bone sword, Nameless grabbing the metal wrist at the last second, the very tip of the point piercing Nameless’s lower abdomen. The robot's other arm came hurtling down. With a reflex Nameless caught the wrist, the other bone sword tip stabbing his right shoulder.
Nameless could not focus equally and separately both halves of his energy and strength onto an upper and lower point of impact, both with the weight of a small truck. Nameless focused his power on his right foot with a quick kick and slammed into the robot’s knee. As the robot swayed unbalanced, Nameless heaved with pain and anger as both bone swords dug deeper into his flesh.
The metal man was unbalanced for a split second, and Nameless tore himself backward. The bone swords ripped out some of his flesh, blood, and muscle, flying as Nameless roared. The commander leveled his spear with a flurry of motion so quick the naked eye could barely see and stabbed as much as he could at the robot.
The metal man deflected most of the blows, others landing and denting or ripping open the metal body. The robot brought down another bone sword, and Nameless sliced upwards with his lance, cutting the metal arm off. The robot didn’t flinch, slamming the other bone sword hilt deep into Nameless’s back. He looked down to see the bloody red tip jutting out of his chest.
Nameless looked the robot in the metal eye and started laughing maniacally. He spat blood into the robot's face, sticking out a crimson tongue as he laughed. Something inside him had snapped. Nameless only saw red.
He swung the lance, cutting some of his own flesh and the robot arm off. The metal man stumbled back as Nameless continued to laugh. The young man swung the lance with both hands, cutting off the robot’s legs. The metal man slammed unto the ground, writhing. Nameless cocked back his knee and curb-stomped the metal man’s head as hard as possible, still laughing.
Nameless planted both knees onto the robot’s shoulders and began pounding the metal body, shouting, nearly screaming while also laughing, making an inhumane, guttural, rage-filled noise he had never made before.
“STOP!”
Nameless slowly stopped and looked over, seeing a flickering man in a purple robe holding out his hands. He must have been some sort of Projection as he stood there pixelating and flickering.
“Why,” Nameless heaved.
“Because I am the A.I. That is grunto; I made him. Please do not kill my friend.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, your friend tried to fucking kill me! And judging by all this blood NOT in my body, everywhere, I’m guessing he’s gonna succeed in a few minutes!”
“We can tend to your injuries, but not if you kill grunto,” The man begged.
Nameless huffed and rolled off the robot, lying in the dirt.
“Thank you, sir.”
The man disappeared and reappeared over the robot. He waved his hand, and the robot reanimated, its eyes glowing blue. The metal arms and legs crawled by themselves over to the robot and reattached. The robot sat up and peeled all of the human skin off itself.
“Hello, I am grunto. Pleased to make your acquaintance!” The robot happily chimed.
“Go fuck yourself.”
“My scanners indicate you are experiencing severe blood loss and internal vital organ failure due to puncture wounds. May I assist?”
“Fuck it. You did it; why not?”
The robot’s left arm morphed into a medical syringe, and it plunged into Nameless’s chest. He gasped as his entire body went numb. The robot then began to tend to the wounds. As the robot managed the damage, Nameless studied the Projection. It was a tall, well-built man with dark features and a broad face.
“Please don’t tell me what I used to look like,” Nameless sighed.
“I look exactly as Lord Aryus did.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“My fucking gods, I was fucking Aryus!”
The Projection titled his head.
“Please ignite your energy, sir.”
Nameless groaned. He held up a middle finger encased in gold flame. The A.I bent down and scanned it. His eyes widened.
“My Lord, forgive me!” The Projection bowed.
“Yeah, go fuck yourself.”
“What does fuck mean, sir?”
Nameless groaned.
“It’s my favorite word, asshole. Where are these secrets and power they told me about?”
The Projection sighed.
“Grunto, execute automatic medical procedures. Keep our master alive and in good health until we are finished.”
“Will do, sir!” Grunto chimed with glee.
The Projection disappeared; the robot’s head began twitching.
“Hold still, sire,” The A.I’s voice said from the robot. The robot put the finger on Nameless’s temple, and his vision went black. Nameless was floating in darkness suddenly, a light appeared, and he hurtled forward.
He was standing in some sort of bedroom. A woman with raven black hair was leaving, and a man with his back turned to Nameless was calling after her. He sighed and turned. Seeing Nameless, his eyes narrowed, his figure sighing. He looked exactly like the A.I. The man slowly walked over to Nameless.
“Hello, young man,” The man sighed.
“The fuck is this?”
“You are in a memory bank created by my best scientists. Right now, my A.I. is sending electrical currents down your nervous system, tricking your brain into thinking this is happening. What’s actually happening is your organic brain cells are engaging with a computer program. We designed this to help my future incarnations should the worst come to be. As we speak, memories and data are being imprinted into your hippocampus.”
Nameless crossed his arms.
“And how does this make me more powerful?”
“There is a DNA pack stored with my A.I. Should it still be intact, you can use it to supplement and, dare I say, upgrade your own. It will make you stronger, faster, smarter, the lessons and power of the past flowing through your veins.”
Nameless nodded.
“So, this is what you did? Fed of clues from past lives and build your own little kingdom?”
The man chortled, shaking his head.
“This very conversation is a spit into the universe's eye. Humans were never designed to live for thousands of years. Our feeble minds simply do not have the capacity for the memories, our flesh decays rapidly, and our emotions barely have the bandwidth for a couple interactions a day. Our souls are bound from one body to the next, with no memory of the past life. Through technology and portal bridges, we were able to consolidate power and build connections with the past and future; it’s nothing short of a miracle.”
“Right.”
The man smiled.
“I see you come from a dying world. Shame, considering your present situation, I was rather hoping an incarnation from an advanced world would happen upon this program.”
“Some nerd version of me would have died long ago, facing what we face now.”
“Mind over matter, boy. You will learn, or at least I hope you do, that there is more than one solution to every problem besides violence.”
Nameless spat on the floor.
“I never wanted any of this. I wanted to be left alone. But everyone seems to think differently.”
The man smiled.
“If I may, I would like to tell you a story.”
“I’m trapped here anyway, might as well.”
“Well, thank you. Our story begins on a far-off moon with a small boy. This boy was admittedly far more privileged than his fellow age peers. He dreamed of exploring the stars, finding lost treasure, and amassing great wealth and fame. But the cosmos had different plans; life is funny like that. His world was destroyed, and he was forced to fight alongside rough men and women. Fighting for every meal, taking life, stealing, surviving.
This boy became a man, this man found his woman, and together they rallied the oppressed peoples of the stars. Together, they formed a bridge to another world. He found clues left behind by past lives, blueprints, plans, and instructions. He took the war to the great enemy that had orchestrated the downfall of his world and the death of his people.
That boy was me. I am but a man, yes. You stand before the latest link in a chain that spans galaxies, thousands of years, and countless wars. We are the harbinger of the great enemy’s doom. We are the King of Ash. We stand where no one else can or will. You are now the newest link in this chain. When this program is done, you shall be on your way to becoming the most potent incarnation we have ever been.”
Nameless whistled.
“Great speech, too bad it means fuck all.”
The man’s face twisted in a sneer as he charged Nameless. They stood half a pace apart.
“Do not waste what I have to say; everything depends on it! The advice and help I give you here will help you defeat the threat you face.”
“You know nothing about we face.”
The man sneered.
“Let me guess, a band of terrorists has been brutalizing worlds. Killing your friends, cutting off the central government, there is a citadel that recruited you, yes? It’s now in their hands, right?”
Nameless was speechless, the blood draining from his face.
“How-how did you know?”
“Because that’s what they did to us!” The man shouted, spit landing on Nameless’s face.
“That’s what they do to every cycle! Here’s what will happen; you are on Armenium, I presume, since that’s where I left this program. You are there to get help and retake whatever local citadel they have taken over, right?”
“Right,” Nameless stammered.
“We did that too! As did the incarnation before me, and the one before that, and the one before that!” Aryus screamed, his face beating red. “Are you paying attention now!”
Nameless silently nodded.
Aryus sighed, nodded, and walking away. With his back turned to Nameless, he bowed his head.
“Taking the citadel is not enough. It’s not even a step. It’s one hell of a battle; yes, you will lose many friends, true. But it is nothing more than the bell ringing, a bell whose toll echoes across the stars. A signal letting the great enemy know it is time to swoop in and restart the cycle. Mankind cannot possess the crossroads of the universe. Else threaten their power.”
Nameless gulped. He formed a fist.
“Who is this they? Who is this great enemy?”
Aryus shook his head.
“We don’t know exactly. I have spent my entire life trying to find that answer. I can say that they created us, the Etherals, the Laydren, and the countless other humanoid races among the stars. Are they God? Perhaps. But they can die; we had killed a few of them when they invaded before. So many died. I am the first link in our chain to repel their hosts. And even then, it is not much of a boast considering it was a half-fledged attempt on their part.
“I watched worlds burn; galaxies consumed by darkness. They have tried and tried to smother our alliance, but you being here means they will succeed one day.”
Aryus held his hands over his head, his shoulders heaving as he gently sobbed. Nameless pierced his lips. He knew this was all fake, but he still felt sorry. He slowly walked over and put his hand on Aryus's shoulder.
“What do we have to do?” Nameless asked.
Aryus sighed.
“Form alliances, gather as many as you can. Do not leave the citadel alone; it must be coupled with a strong and formidable planet. Many citadels and monasteries sit at the crossroads of the universe. Holding them is the first step. Leaving ours be now seems to me as our greatest mistake.”
“I got just the one in mind,” Nameless smiled.
“Not Armenium.”
“Actually, there’s an orange giant much better suited to the task.”
Aryus nodded.
The two were silent as Nameless faced Aryus.
“Does the name Alpha Centurion mean anything to you?” Nameless asked.
Aryus’s eyes widened, backing away, the blood draining from his face.
“How do you know that name? Is he there?!”
“No, no. There was some enemy who talked about his return.”
“It must never happen! Never, do you understand me? Never! You are not ready.”
“Okay, okay. Fuck me. Can you at least tell me why?”
Aryus nodded slowly.
“We don’t know what the great enemy actually is. Are they a hive mind, a parasite, or a celestial being? We can’t tell. They possess organic matter, bending it to their liking. A hundred of their species are worth ten million unenhanced human soldiers. You see, they are incredibly rare and old, more senior than a large majority of the universe.
“Their kingdom exists at the center of the multiverse. The farthest fathomable distance humans can ascertain is approximately nearly as far they are. A ridiculous, insane expanse of worlds and dimensions. The universe is ever-expanding, but the center was ground zero when this all came to be. So, while their position remains the same, all life sprouts and rises farther away from them each cycle.
“From what we have gathered, there are houses and some kind of hierarchy to their species. There is their proverbial King or Emperor, below him his administers; below that is their armed forces, so to speak. Within those armed forces, at the very top, is Alpha Centurion. They call him the Lord of Order. He is their captain, their general. When all else fails, the trickery, manipulation, and pitting of species against one another throughout countless ages, they send him.
“I have never physically seen him, but I have felt his presence. It’s like an electric red mist. It doesn’t sound quite intimidating until you realize he extends his presence across such an immense distance to be in the same room as you.”
Nameless scoffed.
“How the hell do we beat that?”
Aryus looked him in the eye.
“If it was pointless, they wouldn’t be trying so hard, would they? God does not need spies, terrorist cells, churches, and evil generals to enact his will. A tyrant does. And tyrants always fall.”
Nameless smiled.
“I was a slave, and I killed the man who ruled my planet. We got some good people, hard people. We will succeed where you failed.”
Aryus nodded.
“How is Seraph?” Aryus asked abashedly.
“Who?”
“Raven black hair, grey eye-”
Nameless scoffed. Aryus chuckled.
“She hates you, doesn’t she?”
“With every fiber of her being.”
“Good, that means it will end well.”
Nameless stammered, his eyes wide. Aryus gently tapped Nameless’s cheek with his palm like a father.
“My friend, we can explore and measure the universe as deeply as possible, delving into its depths and wrenching its secrets from its ancient guardians. And men will still never understand women.”
Both laughed as a bright light appeared in the corner of the room.
Aryus sighed.
“Take care of them, will you? They are good people.”
“Is it always the same people every cycle?”
“No, no, but Seraph and Orthyem seemed to be attached to us by the hip somehow. Somehow each life, we three always wind up together in some manner. I don’t question it; they are both the greatest beings I have ever known.”
“Amen, brother,” Nameless nodded.
“What is your name, by the way?” Aryus asked.
“Nameless,” he smiled.
Aryus arched his eyebrows, the corner of his lips downturned as he shrugged.
“Hmmph. That’s a new one. Take care Nameless, son of Mars. Use my power wisely and succeed where we failed.”
Nameless nodded grimly. He then turned and sprinted forward into the light.
The arena suddenly reappeared around him as Nameless coughed and gasped. He looked down to see his wounds had been fully healed.
“How long have I been out?” Nameless croaked.
“Twenty-seven hours, sir, but you are on track for a full recovery!”
Nameless looked up at grunto.
“What?!”
“You have been unconscious for-”
“I fucking heard you! Fuck me, where is the upgrade?”
Grunto shivered as the A.I reappeared outside of the robot body.
“Sir, we have a massive power store; I do not recommend a DNA merge in your condition.”
“Give it to me, now,” Nameless growled.
The robot and projection looked at each other. Grunto’s chest opened, revealing a long, thick obsidian crystal.
“The fuck I do with that, shove it up to my ass?” Nameless snarled as he stood up. Rage was bubbling up inside like a geyser.
“Simply grasp it, sir; the stored enzymes will do the rest.”
“Out-fucking-standing.”
He felt nauseous, his vision blurry, his mind reeling. He needed every iota of power available; he had found his purpose. Kick this Alpha Centurion in the ass and save his people. Money didn’t matter, religion, success, he just needed to keep his friends alive and safe. Nameless charged forward and grabbed the crystal.
As his hand touched the crystal, nothing happened. It felt like a rock as his calloused hands firmly gripped the structure. He ripped it out of the robot and held it at eye level studying it.
“Sir! Please put that back in there; you will receive the full, unfiltered charge outside the containment unit!” The A.I whaled.
“Try to stop me, and I will melt grunto and turn him into craft parts,” Nameless barked.
Still, nothing happened. Slowly, his hand started to tickle. Nameless felt the urge to cough. As he choked down the cough, the tickle turned into an itch. Nameless softly coughed. The itch was slowly turning into a burn. Nameless coughed louder. Now his hand felt like it was on fire. Nameless retched and recoiled; as he looked down, he saw the veins in his forearm were glowing with gold light.
“Sir, please!”
Nameless helplessly watched as the gold light traveled up his arm veins, into his shoulder, crisscrossing into his chest. The most pain he had ever experienced erupted in his chest as the charge reached his heart. Nameless whaled with pain, falling unto the ground writhing. Suddenly, he stopped moving. His eyes shut.
His entire body exploded with bright gold flame. Grunto ran away; half his body melted, the Projection flickering out of existence as Nameless floated up into the air, screaming. He could feel it, every iota of power from so many past lives bursting into his molecular cells.
The pain stopped. Nameless turned himself mid-air, gazing at his body. His skin glowed, every sense he had tripled. He felt like he could snap a warship in half. He suddenly twisted his body, looking for wings. There were none. He sighed with disappointment; why did some light-bearers get wings and others didn’t?
“Grunto, annoying electric guy? You two alive?”
Grunto slowly hobbled into view, his eyes flickering.
“We are here, sir,” The robot wheezed.
“I would feel bad for you two, but that robot was literally covered in human skin and tried to kill me.”
“Understandable, sir.”
Nameless floated around them unstably, shrieking with glee. Finally, he seemed to have gotten it. He flew over to Grunto and picked the robot up like a ragdoll.
“Let’s make a deal, you two, you join me, and no more human skin suits or trying to kill me. Bet?”
“A very agreeable accord, sir,” Grunto nodded.
“Is the A.I in there?”
“I am, sire.”
“Great, two dickheads for the price of one. Let’s go.”
Carrying them midair, Nameless floated around the room, testing their weight. He seemed to be able to fly with them quickly. He liked this new energy ability.
“What’s the quickest way to the surface, boys?”
“Up!” Grunto chimed.
“Take the exit, make a left, another left leading to the corridor, then you-” The A.I began.
Nameless shot upwards, smashing through the ceiling, emerging into the circular room where he had been dropped off initially.
“Sir! The structural integrity of this facility is vital to Armenium!”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Floor goes crunch,” Grunto chimed.
“A.I buddy, you need to get on Grunto’s vibe,” Nameless laughed.
Nameless soared up at blinding speed. In a few moments, they had reached the surface. The bright sun light blinded him temporarily as Nameless squinted. Finally, his eyes adjusted, the beautiful buildings stunning him as Nameless hovered a hundred feet in the air. Far below, people began noticing, pointing up and calling out.
“A.I, can you locate the Paradigms?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Fucking do it now.”
“Yes, sir. Two kilometers, due east.”
Nameless flew in that direction. He had some words for Barsool and Tygo. The buildings whisked past them as he dodged hover cars and shuttles. Soon, the temple came into view. Nameless pushed as hard as he could, increasing speed. They went over to the temple, and he could see the vagabonds in the courtyard with the Paradigms.
Nameless dove down, hurtling towards the temple courtyard, his body still engulfed in golden fire that now didn’t seem to affect grunto. He liked this new control of the energy; before, the flame was just flame. Now he could limit or increase it.
The ground drew nearer, and Nameless reversed his pose, so their feet faced it. He slammed into the courtyard in a blinding blur of motion, sending dust and furniture flying everywhere. Nameless climbed out of the fresh crater as the dust cleared, dragging grunto with one hand.
In front of him, all the Vagabonds and upper echelon of Armenium society were gaping at him. The tall, hooded guards rushed forward, but Arcturios raised his hand. They halted and retreated. Nameless flung Grunto to the side and strutted down the line of tables.
“Am I crashing a party?” Nameless roared, his arms extended fully to the sides, his chest puffed out.
“Actually, we were just-” Arcturios began.
“Shut the fuck up; I do not fucking care.”
The Armeniums drew their swords, igniting their energies. The Vagabonds also did so, but the guards quickly surrounded them. Barsool stood, drawing a massive great sword of red fire, Tygo as well. Nameless pointed at them.
“I challenge both of you to duel, right fucking now,” Nameless shouted, beating his chest.
Tygo's eyes popped, and her mouth stretched wide in a bloodthirsty grin as she charged forward. Nameless ducked her swing and punched her so hard that she flew across the courtyard. He kept moving forward. Barsool charged forward, encased in blood-red fire. Had Nameless been as weak as before, he would have been terrified. But now he was just annoyed.
Nameless sidestepped, the great sword harmlessly swinging past him. Nameless kicked Barsool in the leg, the massive man howling and dropping to a knee. Nameless punched him in the chest, sending the giant man toppling over. He jumped on Barsool, wrapped both hands around the man’s thick neck, and tightly squeezed.
“I came to you for help,” Nameless seethed.
Barsool’s face went red.
“Aryus, Nameless, my lord please!” Arcturios begged, not far away.
“We came here after our friends died.”
Barsool’s face went purple as Nameless’s hand's grip grew tighter.
“Nameless!” Julia shrieked.
“And you threw me down a well. For what?! To fight a robot covered in human skin. To the Death! To prove I am who I am?! To prove that some fuck off time ago, I was some uptight, self-important asshole who gave you all of this?!”
Barsool’s eyes started to roll into the back of his head. Nameless slapped him as hard as he could, blood spattering across the ground. Barsool coughed before Nameless continued choking him.
“Fine. I’ll play your game. I was Nameless; I just wanted some help. That’s all; I just wanted you guys to help us do the right thing. But you know what, you win. I am Aryus; I will be the baddest mother fucker to ever walk across this planet’s surface.”
“Nameless,” a female voice called, penetrating the wall of red he was seeing.
He looked up and saw Rachel calmly looking down at him. Her sad green eyes pierced him, raven black hair trailing in the wind, black embers sparking from her body.
“Let him go,” she whispered, her face serene and calm, her eyes searching.
Slowly, Nameless let go of Barsool’s throat and got off him. The Paradigm coughed violently, clutching his throat. Nameless stared at the ground; Rachel put a hand on his shoulder.
“They made me fight a fucking monster,” Nameless sniffled.
“I know. It’s okay,” Rachel soothed.
Nameless shook his head violently, clenching his fists.
“C’mon, let’s get you some food. You want that?” Rachel asked kindly.
Nameless silently nodded. The two founders of Armenium walked away from the area of destruction.