Nuada began to focus his ather and create a time field. Using this field he froze time and space, much like what Ra did when he went to recruit Darren. This field lasted for ten minutes and let the deity rewind time in those seconds, if need be. As Nuada finished enchanting, he went to João and tapped his temple. By touching him he gave him back his flow of time while giving him the information of the Tryfing and his inevitable fate.

João looked up at the Celtic deity, unable to even speak after learning what was going to happen to him.

“João, I’m sorry. I really am. This curse that has affected your family was caused by one of my kin. I know we are irredeemable in your eyes. But I want to make this right,” Nuada said with genuine emotions. João slightly opened his lips as if to speak but quickly stopped himself. Nuada sighed; this wasn’t easy for him either. “I have to kill the Piseóg and your soul will be utterly destroyed, shattered into pieces. But if this happens the Machado curse will end with you, and I will choose you to be my retainer.”

“It will end… with me?” was all João said in reply.

“Yes. Forever,” Nuada assured him.

João's face became one of bliss. For the first time in his life, he felt true joy. He started to laugh and cry. “That’s all I ever wanted, I could care less about anything else,” he said, as he tried to stand up. “As long as others don’t have to suffer like I did… I’ll gladly die.”

When Nuada looked at João’s face as he smiled, he was reminded of Cu. It shocked him… to think a human like João had the Celtic spirit in him. Nuada's heart was moved even more. “I promise you, we are going to do everything we can so you can live a life on your own terms! I’ll make sure of it! An easy life in the fantasia world, with all my power and abilities to win!”

As Nuada spoke he rose his left fist up to his chest, preparing to strike at João. “Because you deserve it João Machado.”

As Nuada charged his gauntlet, João just smiled thinking about his family, how sad it was that he would probably not see them again. “I really wish I could say goodbye to Grandpa,” he thought. The light of Nuada’s gauntlet was shining too bright, so João used his hand to cover his eyes.

“I’ll make sure it's painless.”

João didn’t have time to hear what Nuada was saying, Instead, he heard the sound Nuada made as he dashed forward to him. The Piseóg started to hiss and cry out as Nuada’s fist connected with João’s chest. At the moment of impact, energy went all throughout João. The extra energy exploded out of João’s back, causing his body to topple over onto Nuada.

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As he started to fade away, he felt it. The pressure was finally gone. He’d never felt so alive until this moment. The moment he’d completed his duty as the first born Machado son. The moment the curse ended with him, leaving all other Machado’s to live a life on their own terms.

The moment of his death.

He felt so much warmth, love, and respect from Nuada’s fist. “Tha..nk… you…” he whispered as his consciousness faded away.

///

???

???

João felt a light warmth and then suddenly nothingness. He stopped existing and he was aware of it. Floating in the depths of the eternal oblivion, unable to speak, breath, feel, hear. Yet, he still could? It caused his soul great anxiety, a never ending feeling of nothingness. He was fully aware of that nothingness.

He felt every emotion and then felt nothing at the exact same time. He wanted to scream so bad. Yet he couldn’t, he just forgot what screaming was… No, he remembered what screaming was quickly. His soul went right back to wanting to scream… yet he forgot how to.

And it continued, a cycle repeating over and over… for all of eternity.

///

Nuada held on to João, feeling the heat of his body disappear. Then, João’s body disintegrated into sand; his soul fell to the ground like shards of glass. Damaris went to pick the pieces of the young man's soul up, placing them into her fanny pack.

“I’ll take this to Achilles so he can place them into the homunculus… you did a noble thing Nuada,” she said, as she blinked out of the human realm.

Nuada stood in place. Usually, he would be overthinking right now but he had no thoughts in his head. He just stared at the sand that laid on the ground. He bent down and grabbed a handful of the sand and placed it into a small vial he created from different particles of the sand. He grabbed one of his necklaces and ripped the jewelry off of the lace. He looped the vial into the lace and tied the rope.

Nuada then flew into the air and headed to the direction of an old man who had a face of urgency. Nuada placed the necklace of the young man’s remains around the old man’s neck. He Touched his Temple and the old man blinked and saw the deity. Speechless with no words to say, the old man stood in front of Nuada knowing the full truth of what had happened to the grandson he loved the most.

Nuada prostrated himself onto the ground and placed his forehead on the dirt-covered floor.

“I’m sorry for the misfortune that my kin and I have caused you and your family. I promise you, I’ll live my entire existence with the sole purpose to bring João’s soul out of oblivion.” Silence; it was something that Nuada didn’t want to hear. As he lifted his face to the old man, he saw him crying rivers of tears. The only noise that came out of his mouth was that of gibberish.

Nuada looked away in shame. Of course, this wasn’t enough for all the pain they had endured, he only gave the old man the information for closure. There was still one more day left before the retainers headed into the fantasia world.

The old man would return to see João gone and would spend the rest of the day looking and worrying about his grandson. And if João failed in the Tryfing, he would be a missing person on Earth. There would be no closure for the Machado’s, so Nuada had to tell him. It was the least he could have done… No it was the bare minimum. Yet, it hurt Nuada to see the face of the old man, to hear the strange words and noises he made.

As Nuada stood up from his position of asking forgiveness, the old man walked up to him. He walked slowly, holding the vial of João’s remains in his left hand. Nuada stood ready to take the punch he felt was about to come. Instead, he felt the full body and weight of the old man hugging him.

“Thank you, King Nuada… Thank you for saving my JoJo.” As he wept, Nuada returned the old man's embrace.

“I promise I’ll bring your JoJo back to you,” Nuada declared with a burning conviction.

3rd Tryfing

Official judge: Heroic Greek deity, Achilles.

Support judge: Angel, Damaris.

Chosen deities:

Ra: Demi-God: Darren Donaldson

Lugh: Knight: Ariel Morales

Zhong Kui: Exorcist

Inari: Polymath: Kento Sanosuke

Freya: Assassin: Charlie Wilson

Nuada: Conqueror João Machado

Minerva: Tactician ???

Team Arc-Angel: Hero Luther Satenly

Fantasia world: The world known as Helioan

Starting year: not yet decided.

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