Roy and Flare frantically burst through the door, to which they are met with the gaze of a figure who stands before a bruised and battered Jack, lying on the marble floor. His face fills with delight upon seeing the two.

“Hehe… you got any more of those lollipops?” He said, grinning from ear to ear.

The two look at Jack, and back at the figure. Their faces morph into an expression of confusion essentially screaming, “The hell happened to you?.”

A few minutes earlier, outside the purple room decorated with chains. Jack, holding the boy, and Flare, with the cat, spoke before splitting up.

“I’ll just keep heading up, it’s faster that way,” Jack explains. “You comin’ too?”

Flare shakes his head in refusal, “I’ll probably look through some of the floors before meeting you. There’s gotta be more things that I could take back.”

“Suit yourself,” Jack lifts his hand, collapsing the ceiling again, “I’ll meet you at the top floor if you find anything!

“Will do— and, do be careful with the kid,”

“It’ll be fine, trust me.” Jack reassures.

The two go their separate ways, Jack raises his hand again, to which a sigil once again is summoned.

“This place contains so much divine power… almost like a leak of some sort,” He remarks.

The ceiling above him crumbles, the debris seemingly dodge Jack, standing motionless and carrying the boy on one shoulder. After which, he climbs through the hole to repeat the process. He does so for around twenty more floors before losing his footing, plummeting down and hitting his back upon debris. The boy laughs childishly as Jack props himself up, embarrassed.

He takes a look around the room, fastening the boy with rocks which protrude from the wall, similar to how a seatbelt is placed so that the child wouldn’t move.

“Stay right there… They aren’t heavy are they?” He laughs. “Gotta give myself a break y’know?”

Jack looks around the floor, dimly lit like the rest. The arrangement of the interior reflects an office complex. Something he’s seen before. He walks over to inspect the pillar on a nearby staircase, reading, “Floor 52” on a bent, metal sign, almost ready to collapse at the slightest touch. He cracks his neck and begins to inspect more around the room.

The windows seemed foggy, as to get a clearer view of the outside, he threw a shard of rubble, causing the window to shatter. However, the fogginess of the window did not come from the window itself, but from the outside. Oddly enough, instead of fog, it was more like he was staring at a blurry painting of the outside.

“This—ability. It belongs to Crystal… But, why is it covering the building's outer exterior?”

He slowly reached for his branch, unsheathing it from a small holster. It bloomed into an ax, and he began to lift it slowly. His head jolts in the direction of a faint, yet sudden sound. His approach caused the sound source to scurry around the next room, before hearing another window shatter.

“Hey! Stop!” He calls.

He entered the room the sound came from. Inside laid a lounge, dimly lit as ever. Everything in the room showed signs of destruction. He looks around the destroyed room in shock, looking down at the center of the room. There laid a hole, gaping, and almost twice the size of the one Jack created.

“Damn, that’s a much bigger me,” He told himself, setting down his ax. “Whatever it was… even made a hole in the ceiling.”

He looks up to see another enormous hole, its significant height led him to assume it would lead to the top floor. A little while after, he left to enter the room he was in previously. There, he destroyed the fastenings that the boy had around him, picking him up again and placing him on his shoulder.

“Bahaha! Looks like I have competition!” He announces. “Let’s see who made this hole, maybe I can get some pointers!”

The stones that make up the building lift him up the newly found hole. Many more office complexes pass Jack’s eye. His face scrunches to the sight.

“The Gods worked 9 to 5’s, baha—” His face immediately collides with the ceiling of the floor. A slow muffled groan was immediately followed by the collapsing of the roof. He raises his arm swiftly, causing another sigil to appear. The debris began to dodge him similarly to before.

“—Bah!”

His face red from the impact, he swiftly pushed himself up from where he landed. He pants heavily, “—Ugh… oh geez… kid? You okay…?”

The boy who landed on Jack's stomach remains asleep despite the rather heavy impact Jack had made.

“God, this kid weirds me out…” He sighs.

He surveyed the room while lying on the floor, panting from the shock of the ceiling collision. For a room of a 500 year old building, the marble floor, now sullied with the grime that Jack had made, was unusually kept clean. The windows were broken off, allowing the wind to enter the room. Jack sighs again as he lies back down on his back from exhaustion.

“Thou’rt not fit for the entrance of mine abode…”

Jack jolts into a sitting position to the sudden sound of the voice. Surveying the room once more to find the source of the voice. His head turned to face the other way when his face suddenly met the tip of a blade. He began to sweat profusely.

The creature poses as a pitch-black figure, but dorn a human-like shape. “T-Thou’rt possesses a power unfamiliar to one…”

Jack places the boy down slowly so as not to cause sudden movements to agitate the monster, “He seems reasonable enough… right?” He thought to himself. Slowly, he places the boy against a wall and secures away from the monster with a dome made of stone, topped with a hole for air.

The creature takes a step back to let him stand, “Doth thou possess a name?” The figure spoke.

“Who aren’t thou?” He mocked.

The creature scoffs. “Thou’rts power rivals that of frail divinity… One shall take care of thy.” It assumes a stance mocking a fighting style, opposing Jack who points his ax.

Down at the chained room, Roy remains inspecting the table. It glows a bright blue, and demands a password. A keypad appears above the console as a hologram. Roy spends his time memorizing the images despite not knowing what to do with them.

“I’ve seen these before…” Roy told himself. His eyes widened to a realization, “And that means the password…” He bent down to look under the table. Symbols carved under the table bore the same sigils as on the keyboard.

“Why though…” Roy asked himself.

After contemplating the rather idiotic way of “hiding” the password, he filled out the password with the corresponding sigils. A bright light illuminated the purple room, coloring it in a bright neon blue. This, of course, hurts Roy’s eyes, but he continues to search the table which now presents a 3d hologram of the building. A small hatch on the table opens to reveal a small key. He grabs it and reads the label and read, “Floor 55+”

Roy rushes out of the room. The hologram remains, displaying the top floor as destroyed, and four figures seemingly on the ground, with another on the stairs, making a swift approach.

“That’s one too many…” Roy suggests to himself.

Jack stares the man down, cuts and bruises litter his skin, his clothes tattered, and the armor he made of stone for himself begins to crumble. A look of perseverance shines through his eyes.

“You really are something old man…” He grunts, “But things as old and irrelevant as you remain to be known in my country as dead…” He proclaims, pointing his ax in an intimidating manner.

The figure glances back at him, his true face blinking in and out through the aura of shadows. His face seems pale, almost corpse-like. Although just like the boy, the figure stood with no near comparison in size, to the figure however, Jack’s size is only a mere scare factor.

“Relinquish your pursuit… and there may be a possibility that the miss you’ve sought will meet a quick demise.” The creature grasps its throat. “Unlike mine partner.”

The shadows release the corpslike man by ripping him off the shadows by the throat, immediately falling to the ground, gagging. He begins to have a seizure, coughing up blood and screaming at the top of his lungs. His eyes shrivels as he tried to sob, veins all around his body popped. Wounds that have long dried out crumble, and begin to recolor itself red. The man begins to visually age rapidly. His black hair turns white in the blink of an eye, and back to black. His screams of agony follows.

“Kill me—!” He coughed. His cries followed by retching caused him to sputter nonsense. “Gods!” He sobbed, “I killed them all!”

The shadows swallow him once more, and the figure emerges.

“I, regrettably, give my companions a set amount of free time… Alas, all thine do with it is sputter nonsense. It is among the many merciful actions I allow them to have.”

“Aw you sick sack o’ shit, you got some oldie as a host? Some reverse mech type shit?!” He raised his ax in response. His face scrunches in disgust.

“I digress… Thou has interrupted a host change. Thoust’s companion shall turn to mine own.” The figure uttered.

Jack charges at the creature who effortlessly dodges his ax. Although the size of the ax remains larger than the creature and almost as tall as Jack himself, he too, effortlessly swings the ax, destroying walls, the ceiling, and caving the entire top floor in.

“I ain’t the weakest, geezer!” Jack yelled, raising his fist.

The creature takes a step back in hesitation, but summons a limitless amount of demous at his direction. As a response, Jack solidifies his hand with stone, pounding his chest excessively like a primate. “Flow… back to the fires that molded you…” He chanted.

The demous before him turn to stone in an instant, all contaminating each other, in which the creature grunts in realization. Swiftly cutting its arm off before turning to stone.

“What… is this?!” It groans.

Jack smirked from behind a wave of stone demous. “It’s something I found out I could do recently, I call it! Stone Fountain: Virus! Now, why not gimme a hug!”

“Tch… thou dares play with the likes of I?!” The creature yelled, dodging his every move.

“You’re the one who chooses to play along! I mean, look at us! Ain’t this just a fun game of tag?”

The creature raises Demous from the ground, locking Jack in place, and solidifying into stone. “Enough!” The creature yelled. “That damn nuisance of a “God of Stone.” You realize, haven't you?”

Jack sighs briefly, “God dammit…”

“The same trick that fool of a god fell for… Do you dare reverse the stone curse? Reverting back to the dark pests? Or will you just accept defeat?”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“Pfft… wait you killed the god of stone with this?” Jack laughs, “Newsflash old man, My power originates from the God of Earth. And…” Jack swiftly punches the rock, destroying it and the demous alongside it. “I’m skeptical to believe that the Stone God over-thought the situation. However, unlike that Stone God, I’m not so hard headed…”

“You?!” The creature yelled in surprise.

“I’m all brawn…”

The door behind Jack bursts open, there, a man with blond hair and a keycard, along with a rather ectatic fellow with orange hair and a lollipop in his mouth, and a pink-ish cat perched on his shoulder.

Jack stares at them, realizing who they were. “Hehe… you got any more of those lollipops?” He said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Y’know,” Flare crosses his arms, taking out the lolly, “These get dry fast, like, I just removed it from my mouth and it’s already dry up.” He sighs, incinerating the lollipop.

“Shoulda let me have a taste…” Jack exhaled.

Roy pats Flare on the back. “You two are disgusting”

“So, you need this guy gone?” Flare asks, cracking his knuckles.

The creature takes a step back, almost hesitant to approach them. Suddenly, it raises its arm as it calls to them. “You… of fine divinity… a much better—”

The figure quickly flinches back; in the blink of an eye, Flare appears before it. He swiftly propels himself with fire from his other hand, slamming the figures’ head into the ground.

“Sorry old man! I’m in a hurry!”

As his hand rests on the figures’ face, his palm begins to illuminate with the light of flames. And with a loud BANG, the creature disappears within an instant.His hand scorched with a roaring fire. The floor disappears along with the figure. The blast, so powerful, shattered every window of the building that the creature was sent down. Shattered glass causes a downpour below. Shards pierce the demous circling the tower, their pitch-black wings torn with the raining glass, and they dispersed back into darkness. Jack and Roy look at each other and sigh in unison.

“Show off…”

Flare lands back down away from the hole he had just created, watching as the creature hit the first floor. He felt an itch on his shoulder, almost as if something was behind him. Just then, he flinched back and he was caught off guard by something even more panicked than him.

“You!” She panted. “Why would you do that!!!” The cat clutched onto his back for dear life.

Flare in realization, laughs. “Haha! I totally forgot there was someone on my shoulder!”

She jumps off, trembling, running to the boy who sits in the corner of the room. Her worried expression fades away as she watches him try to stand.

“Oh it’s the kid!” Flare exclaimed. “Good job, Jack, surprised he’s unscathed.”

“Flare…” Jack murmured.

“What is it?”

Jack sobbed jokingly, “He called me frail divinity…”

Roy patted Flare on the back, worried. “Flare, I think she’s here.”

“Hey… don't disregard me…” Jack scoffed.

His head swiftly pivots downwards, looking down at the hole. From below, the sound of clanging can be heard. The sound of roaring follows right behind. A swarm of black inches at them from level one. He swiftly turns to Roy again.

“Where is she?!” He asked.

Roy pointed to a door to his left, “There’s only two rooms on this floor. This, and in there.”

“Then open the door?” He exclaimed, “Jack! Get up!”

“Aye aye, sir!”

He springs himself up with rocks forming on his back. He carries the boy and cat and makes his way to the door.

The door creaked open. The room was pitch-black, no windows, no lights, and was only illuminated red by the sky behind them. With a snap of Flare’s hands, the room illuminates with fire. There lies a person, Blue hair with pink hair ornaments and dressed in extremely warm clothing. She lies dormant, strapped to a bench, dimly lit by a yellow flickering lamp.

All three of them rush immediately, Jack even putting the boy down to check on her condition. Roy and Jack panicked as Flare tries to break the straps.

“No good!” Flare yells. “They’re made with the same material as that gate!”

“Why would they even need a strap like this?!” Roy yelled in question.

The cat panicked with them, looking over the room. It was another medical room, similar to the one they had previously been in. Quickly scanning the room, she found a case with a knife inside. Upon approaching it, she found writing on the box indicated by an emergency tag. The knife was said to be specifically for the straps. Although when she tried to break the glass, when she looked behind her, she was dumbfounded.

“C’mon! We gotta go! I got her!” Flare yelled, with a loud crash following his words.

“Wait did you— Ehh?! Why?!” She yells.

Flare grabs the entire bed and the floor it was bolted to. While disbelief strikes their faces, Jack and Roy swiftly pick up the boy and the cat. They exit the room, looking down at the hole in the middle of the room. From below, the shadows have started to climb swiftly, almost making it to the top.

Jack runs to the window, cat and boy on his shoulders, facing his companions “Just jump!” Jack yelled. “I have a plan!”

The two nod. With no other choice the three jump out the window, propelling their movements with bursts of their powers. The creature makes it to the balcony once more, where stare them down, charred.

“Art thou a pretentious bunch to mock a God?” The figure remarks, raising his hand, gesturing a grasp. “One shant let another opportunity go to waste!”

Jack swiftly grabs onto Roy, who wavers in the air. “Your… weights keep changing… the air flows!” He yelled. “Flare!”

“I’m carrying an entire hospital bed… This belt is… draining to fly next to…”

“Draining your energy?!”

“Well, no… I can’t fly as well! It’s eating my fire!” He yells back. “So Jack, what's the plan?”

“Look behind you! See for yourself!”

The sound of a loud crash shook the sea violently. They turn around to watch as the building tilts away from them. The immense sound of rumbling attracts the wandering demous to the site. The entire building collapses, and the two watch in utter confusion.

“What the hell did you do?!” They yelled.

Jack laughs heartily, “Hahaha, Th- I- When we entered th’ building, I started removing the base of the building steadily. Then Flare’s punch shattered the base to such a frail point.”

“You came up with this?!” Roy yelled.

“Hell yeah! Although, I wanted to throw a massive rock at it to cause it to tumble and make me look strong, but I guess Flare’s punch works too!” He explained.

“Selfish prick!” Roy yells, “I should just drop you, huh?!”

Flare laughs. “C’mon ladies, get it together. Hah, our mission is basically complete! How’s the portal looking?”

Roy begins to sweat, “I—uhh… don’t know.”

“Ehe, what?” Flare responds.

Roy began stammering. “I kinda… recalled the wind spirit.”

“That's… really bad actually,” Flare sighed.

“The portal should be open if anything,” Roy exclaimed, “Besides, there's more defense there, I just lost eyes on the portal.”

Flare groans in exhaustion, “Ugh… Stop here!”

They landed on the ground before the sea so fast that a short rumble was formed. Jack and Flare let everyone off before catching his breath. “That strap was annoying to deal with. I couldn’t exert as much power. Any way of removing it?”

Roy walks over, pulling out a knife. “Use this, I found the cat holding it in its mouth.”

The cat recalls the encounter, “Wha—Gimme that before you hurt yourself!” Roy yelled.

“Use it for the straps! Wait!” She calls.

The cat pouts, “Well… hope you’re happy now…”

Roy hands over the knife, “It’s a knife specifically made for those straps. The cat opened the box it was placed in.”

“What a genius kitty!” Flare exclaimed. “So glad we brought these fellas!”

“I find it too suspicious to be honest…” Roy thought. “This cat could potentially possess a higher intellect than we had imagined.”

“Potentially?!” The cat screamed, “I’ve been yelling at you from the—” However, they can only hear incessant meowing.

“Might be dumb luck, who knows?” says Flare, cutting the straps. The knife effortlessly slides through the straps, almost as if it glided through the air. The girl is released from the straps, and Flare carries her on his back.

“We can finally leave! I haven’t had food in so long!!!” Jack exclaimed.

Flares' eyes glistened in fear as he sensed an ominous collapse. As if something distant broke. He quickly faces his companions, in which they respond similarly. Although, the ominous feeling did not come in the direction of the portal.

Those strong enough to sense, along with the cat, suddenly turned their heads at the base of where the demolished tower once was. Their hairs stood on end as a loud wisp of wind followed by roars emanated from within, chilling them to the spine. Seconds later, a dark veil rises as a lone figure propped itself upright.

“Thou… may have sensed mine power… Still, thou has yet to understand….”

Their faces reflected each other, filled with dread. The girl, boy, and cat were promptly snatched and swifter than they flew, they traversed the ground at such speed not visible to the naked eye. The cat and boy moved similarly to flags at this speed. Still, it’s truly a wonder to them how Jack, who wields stone, kept up with the others.

They rushed in the portal's direction, only guided by the soot marked trees that Jack had marked previously. The dead, iron-like trees shifted in the direction of their haste. Moving at the speed of a flash, the sonic boom created was enough to destroy the demous in their path.

“I’ll kill you myself if any of you slow down!!” Flare commanded. “Do not stop!!”

Jack, unknowingly disobeys, looking behind him to witness the sky turn to night, and yet without a star in the sky. His balance wavered as he suddenly flung off track. “Shit…!” And slams directly into one of the dead, iron-like trees. The sound, so loud, Flare immediately turns around as if already knowing the cause of such a sound, his sigh so immense that fire spews from his mouth.

“Flare?! Where are you—Oh come on!” Roy complained, turning around.

Jack lies on the ground, holding onto the boy, “I—Have no excuse…”

“You damn well don’t!” Flare lectured, “I’ll deal with you after that swarm!”

He cuffs his hands and swiftly sends a blaze into the swarm. Spreading throughout, punching a hole through the swarm, allowing the red sky to shine.

“The fire will spread, we’ll be fine!” Flare yelled. “Just go!”

“Quick!” Roy yelled, “The portal is just—aw hell…”

The figure stands before them, unleashing another pitch-black veil. The group stands to watch a vast amount of creatures pour out its body. Flare continues to shoot fire, but to no avail. The fire quickly extinguishes after contact.

“Damn Golems…” Flare scoffed. “This… he might be more painful to deal with than I imagined…”

The figure spoke with a demanding voice, “Although I reigned as the strongest countless era’s ago… I still remain the same…” It raised its cape, revealing eyes within. The capes underside seemed abysmal, almost like peering with closed eyes. The creature spoke in a more prominent tone, “Have you heard the story of Eden's Parasite?”

The three immediately stepped back, their eyes widened and their hearts raced at an unimaginable pace. They each have their own panic attack. Jack begins to hyperventilate, Roy stood still, overridden by confusion and fear. Flare, the strongest of the three, steps back in hesitation. While the cat looks in worry, oblivious to their current situation.

“This guy killed the gods?!” Jack exclaimed, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

“There’s no way…” Roy muttered, “The Traitorous Era was more than half a millenia ago, how is it alive?!”

“Oh ho oh… We’re screwed… We’re screwed!!!” Flare sighed. “I punched this thing through how many floors?!”

The parasite pointed at Flare with a cackling laughter that mocked him, “You… Thou’st have reminded I of that wretched damsel…”

He nervously responded, “Haha… You mean Taruyi, The Orange Field? I reminded you of them…?”

“Can you not be a nerd at a time like this?!” Roy, Jack, and the cat angrily yelled in unison.

“Correct…” The parasite answered, “Surprising that she, the feeble “God of Fire” had a lasting legacy… You, however… Show much more spark… One… I am to believe that you are much more superior in terms of power, and divinity itself, despite your ungodlike origin…”

“You flatter me?” Flare responded. “Also…what?”

Jack quickly grabs their attention, “He’s starting to talk funny… one minute he’s talking to us like ancient royalty, the next it sounds like he’s speaking to us at a reunion!”

“How perceptive of you…” The paradise exclaimed. “Of course, the one has gifted me with the power to adjust my sense of self to whom I am acquainted with.”

“So what do you want?” Flare yelled, “You want my companions? Well on one condition!”

“I want you… You who are known as Flare!”

“Oh… well I was going to say “If you get past me!” and whatnot… damn, you ruined my cool moment…”

“Flare, focus!” Roy yelled, “How do you propose we get the hell away from him?”

“I don’t know!” Flare answered sharply, “I can only think of two scenarios!”

“Alright then, great!” Roy yells sarcastically, “Care to share them?!”

The parasite scoffs, “Retaliation is futile, after all, it was I who caused the extinction of the divine!”

Flare sighs, looking back at the boy and cat, and handing Crystal off to Roy. “Roy, do not let her out of your sight…” Flare demanded. “I’ll die here, but be sure to take the boy and cat through that portal, if you want to, you can stay.”

“Aye aye, party leader…” He responded. “But I’ll follow half of those conditions I'm afraid…”

“You’re not following my orders?” Flare asked.

“You’re not going to follow your own orders,” Roy laughed, “You’ll win.”

Flare smiles as faces the oncoming swarm of pitch black. Flare’s life flashes before his eyes. The scene reminds him of the first cave he ever explored with his companions. He takes a deep breath, raising his hand. He quotes his past self.

“Just a bit of light is enough to illuminate the path forward… grant it to me, the power to sear a path, and onward to a brighter day…”

His past self smiled, looking back at his friends, “Look! I lit up the cave! C’mon we can go in now!”

His present self peered at the creature, protecting the rest from the dark that lies forth, “Kindle me… Godlike Form…”