The battle between Drakthar and Xander ends with no cheers, only shocked onlookers as even God does not speak up to declare Xander the victor. They all watch, unable to believe that Drakthar actually lost, as Xander gets down next to Drakthar, quickly going into his bag of holding to tend to Drakthar’s wounds.
“It would seem you have proven yourself victorious. Congratulations, it takes much to defeat your friend in such a way, not to mention doing it with all of those voices crying out against you,” God tells Xander in an oddly sincere tone, having entered the arena to talk to him directly.
“I don’t have time for your games. I need to make sure he’s okay,” Xander brushes him off, taking a closer look at the open wound around Drakthar’s knee.
“Do not worry, I will assist you. I wouldn’t want to miss the look on his face when he has to come to terms with his own weakness. He isn’t like us is he? Just an ordinary man, helpless before those who have been blessed with abilities such as ours. But to the matter at hand, I have already ordered my men to take him to the doctor on this island. That is where all of your little friends: Kali, Lunette, and that troublesome wolf have been hiding out is it not?” God declares, making sure Xander is aware that nothing gets past him.
“Didn’t know Lunette and Fore were there... but sure. I don’t have a problem with bringing him there if the doctor is allowed to treat him,” Xander agrees, wary of whatever God might be plotting.
“And he will be, I have no interest in killing the rest of your friends. They are merely pawns that will inevitably lead me to Gwendolyn and that includes you,” God cannot help but give away his plans, knowing there is nothing Xander can do to stop him.
“Go fuck yourself,” Xander can’t think of anything to say, resolving himself to make sure that God never finds them.
“What? No witty retort? Just a base insult that means nothing? Is that how you should be talking to the man who just agreed to help your precious Drakthar?” God starts to mock him, finding himself, like usual, with the upper hand.
Xander doesn’t respond, standing up as men rush in with a stretcher to carry Drakthar to the doctor’s place.
“Do not worry my followers, our hero Drakthar will be given any medical attention he needs, he may have been defeated here but he is still our champion and I hope you continue to treat him as such,” God calls out to the audience, causing applause to ring out from those glad to hear Drakthar will be okay.
Meanwhile, deep within the jungle, in an alcove along the back of an illusionary mountain, Kayde, Gwendolyn, Klara, and Francine continue to hide out with a mysterious woman named Koralia, who claims to be God’s sister.
Throughout the days spent there, Kayde notices Koralia’s blood-red eyes following him filled with curiosity. At first, the looks don’t bother him, especially from a woman as alluring as her, but after a few days of having nothing to do, confronting her about it will at least be interesting.
“Hey, Koralia, couldn’t help but notice you’ve been looking at me. I know I’m super attractive and all but you should stop eyeing me so suspiciously all the time, we’ve been here for a while now and nothing has happened, you can trust me, okay?” Kayde tells her jokingly, knowing she hasn’t been eyeing him suspiciously and if she was then she would be staring at those with him more often instead of just focusing on him.
“I find you curious. You are not a man or at least not a human one but you appear to be exactly that. I am just curious as to what you really are,” Koralia explains, encountering someone new already being something out of the ordinary, let alone someone whose mind she is unable to read.
“Now that’s not fair. I’m not supposed to ask you any more questions but it doesn’t go both ways now does it?” Kayde jokes with her a bit, causing Klara and Francine to panic internally as she might throw them out of this place in response.
“No, it can… I just want to know what you are,” Koralia responds in an uncharacteristically bashful way. “Alright, how about we trade then. I promise to tell you exactly what I am if you tell me why it is you let us stay here. I mean, I know I can be convincing but really if you think about it, you owe us nothing. It’s not like we are old friends or anything. All I want to know in exchange is why,” Kayde bargains with her, his tone shifting as he gets serious.
“You have to understand this is not easy to discuss, let alone with a stranger. Your question is worth a lot more than mine,” Koralia hesitates, not seeing this as an even trade.
“I think it is. This one secret is why your brother, God, Gudea, whatever he is called, is hunting me down because he’s so curious about why he can’t read my mind. How do I know you two aren’t on speaking terms anymore? You could be talking to him telepathically, or however you immortals communicate, telling him we are here,” Kayde points out, showing to her the worth of his secret, even though he’s pretty sure God already knows, and thanking his lucky stars that the people here that haven’t lost their minds don’t have a clue as to what he is either.
“Fine, I understand. Although I do not have any way to communicate with Gudea, we do not have any ability such as the one you mentioned. I agree to your terms. I will tell you my story if you tell me what you are,” Koralia takes the deal, ready to hear Kayde’s big secret.
“Alright, I can go first but you have to hold up your end of the bargain,” Kayde notes, looking directly into her eyes, quickly determining that she will honor their agreement.
“Okay, hard to explain cause you’ve exiled yourself here for what I can only assume is at least a thousand years seeing as you don’t understand the concept of clothes,” Kayde begins, making a slight quip as he does so.
“You are mistaken, I have worn clothes before. I just prefer to be like this,” Koralia corrects him.
“Okay sure, anyway, I’m something that’s called an android, some use the term artificial intelligence. Point is my brain is not some fleshy blob, it's a machine. Parts of me are human but because my brain isn’t I’m guessing you guys can’t read me,” Kayde comes out with it.
“Android? I have never heard of that… but I believe you, your head is completely metal,” she comments as her eyes get wider, examining Kayde’s head in an attempt for this to all make sense. “Okay, now it’s your turn,” Kayde reminds her.
Koralia sighs before beginning, “This is a very difficult story to tell. It is never easy to relive one’s mistakes... but you have put me in a position where I must. When you came to me, I admit I had no compassion towards you. I wanted you to leave me in peace more than anything else. Only when I heard what Gudea had done to you and read your friend’s mind and knew first hand the damage he had caused her, did I decide to shelter you from him. Sadly, in the past I was no different from my brother, I also caused a great many people to feel pain like you are feeling now. I used to toy with people the same way my brother does, but I did not stay in one place like him, I moved around this world, causing havoc for my own amusement. But that all changed when I met this intriguing man. He was what they call a king of a small kingdom in the West, he didn’t have much land to rule over but despite that, he was the most confident man I had ever come across. I took an interest in him, wanting to see what he could accomplish, how far this attitude of his could take him. I ended up getting too involved, my investment in his success leading to me becoming somewhat of a military advisor to him. Our bond deepened further when I became pregnant with his children, I never truly loved him but I would do anything for my children so I took up the mantle of queen and ruled over our newly created empire. That man’s name was Leonidas Athaulf and if nothing has changed you should know the entity I created as the Sacrosanct Empire”.
“Holy shit,” Kayde can’t stop himself from interrupting her.
“I take it then that the Sacrosanct Empire has even survived until now?” Koralia asks based on his reaction, frowning slightly upon hearing it still exists.
“Yeah… but go on,” Kayde urges her to continue eager to know more.
“As an immortal I advised many of my descendants, conquering most of the western lands through the eradication of all those who stood before me. I killed millions of innocent people just to see my kin rule over them all. I was blinded, thinking this was the best life I could give them. I made sure to pass on a legacy, teaching each king how to use fear, and how wielding it correctly could easily sway the hearts and minds of the people. For thousands of years, I created an Empire whose foundation was built upon corpses and all of the blood was on my hands. I would have continued on like this forever if not for my brother Solomon, after hearing of what I had done he sought me out, making me realize for the first time all of the pain I caused. I was broken, everything I had done was despicable, I tried desperately to change how the Sacrosanct Empire functioned but it was too late. I was thrown out by the very own family I worked so hard to protect. And so I left, returning to my original home upon this island, isolating myself so I would never harm another person again. So your answer Kayde is compassion, I know helping you now will never be enough to atone for what I have done but I would not be able to live with myself if I turned you away, I had to shelter you from suffering the same fate of those whose lives I destroyed and am still destroying today,” Koralia finishes her tale, finally coming to the answer of why she is letting them stay with her.
Everyone in the alcove sits in silence for a few seconds, taking some time to fully process everything Koralia just told them.
Kayde, never one to shy away from breaking such silence does just that, “Okay, so two things. One, my friends and I are like really famous for something. I could give you a guess as to what that is but let me just tell you. Those Athualf guys, your family, we got rid of them. Changed the whole Empire so they aren’t killing people randomly or starting wars. So you can rest assured you aren’t destroying anyone’s life anymore”.
“That’s a relief, I must give you my sincerest thanks Kayde, you have no idea what it means to me to hear this,” Koralia tells him, tears streaming down her face as she learns that her greatest mistake is no longer causing anyone else harm.
“Hold on, don’t go crying on me just yet. I had two things to tell you and this one is way better. You see this woman right here?” Kayde asks as he throws an arm around the unresponsive Gwendolyn.
“She is your great great great great great great great great great great great…” Kayde continues to say the word great until Klara screams, “GET ON WITH IT!”
“Fine, I was just trying to be accurate. Anyway, she’s like your great-granddaughter in law but like add a million greats to the front of that. She married an Athaulf, if they have kids they’d be directly related to you. Isn’t that crazy?” Kayde mentions, that being his major takeaway from her story.
“This descendent of mine, is he the current king of the Sacrosanct Empire?” Koralia asks, still assuming he is corrupt in some way.
“No, he’s the one that got rid of his own family and made everything right. Although he wasn't raised by them… but that doesn’t matter. He’s fighting in that tournament I mentioned right now,” Kayde informs her, excited to have made this connection.
“I… I do not know what to say,” Koralia finds herself speechless, unable to believe what Kayde is telling her, that the problems that she created were able to be solved by her own lineage which she believed to be rotten.
“Don’t say anything, you are already helping out your great great great great great great…”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“KAYDE!” Klara stops him, knowing where this is going if she lets him continue.
“Fine, you are helping out your like a billion greats grandson’s friends,” Kayde comes out with it.
This time a longer silence ensues, this one not even Kayde dares to break, giving Koralia time to let out whatever emotions come with this news.
At the end of it, Kayde hears something he never thought he would, a wide grin appearing on his face as Koralia asks the question, “How can I help you defeat my brother?”
Meanwhile, the soldiers, transporting Drakthar to the doctor, arrive.
“Bring him in,” the doctor sighs heavily assuming there would be a new patient once he heard the tournament would be taking place today.
The doctor guides them to a third bed on the other side of the one Arua is currently resting in and they place Drakthar upon it, backing up so the doctor can examine him.
“Unlike the other two, God cares about this one’s recovery, make sure he’s able to fight again,” the leader of the group of soldiers informs the physician.
“I would do my best either way,” the doctor responds, trying to get them to leave.
“I know, I was just letting you know that there will be consequences this time if you fail,” the man warns him before leaving with his horde of men.
A few minutes later, Maximus and Lunette return from watching the battle from the audience.
“Mister Drakthar has been brought here as well? I guess that is to be expected,” Maximus comments once he sees Drakthar.
“Yeah, yeah, give me some space you two, I need to look him over,” the doctor tries to get them out of his hair, trying to get some of Drakthar’s armor off as he examines the damage Xander has done to him.
Kali, who has been pretending to be sleeping most of the time since Arua was brought here to avoid interacting with her, sits up, trying to peek over at Drakthar’s condition.
“Would you stop looking over my shoulder? It’s already hard enough to examine him. I don’t need the added pressure,” the doctor requests, not a fan of having onlookers as he works.
“Sorry, I’m just worried about him,” Kali admits, already saddened that it is Drakthar lying injured in the bed instead of Xander.
“None of the injuries he sustained are life-threatening, so please lie back down so I can finish looking at him. If you care that much I can tell you what I’ve found once I’m done,” the doctor assures her.
“Yeah, sorry,” Kali apologizes before flattening back out of the bed and closing her eyes, hoping that none of Drakthar’s injuries are too bad. A few hours later the doctor wakes Kali up, having finished his examination of Drakthar.
“I’m done, your friend over there has it worse either of you two ladies. He has the same head injury as the woman next to you except there are bruises all over his body, he is bleeding a lot internally,” the doctor begins to explain, causing Kali to panic.
“Calm down, it's like I said before he isn’t going to die, I can promise you that. There is one more thing, there is a deep laceration on the back of his knee, someone already bandaged it but did a poor job. I cleaned it out before reapplying a new bandage,” the doctor finishes filling her in on Drakthar’s condition.
“When do you think he will wake up?” Kali asks, eager to speak with him.
“I don’t know. It could be a few hours, it could be a few days. His head injury is worse than her’s, it could be a while before he wakes up,” the doctor speculates, having no way to know as he wasn’t at the battle and doesn’t know what happened to this man.
“Thanks for looking after him, you’re a good guy even though you work for God,” Kali thanks him, glad that he has helped her and Drakthar.
“Don’t lump me in with that guy. Now roll over, I should replace your bandages as well,” the doctor tells her, going into a cabinet to grab fresh gauze.
Back at God’s mansion, Xander arrives back from defeating his best friend, finding himself alone in God’s vast estate, the only remaining fighter from the tournament which thousands entered.
“Why don’t you join me in the lounge to celebrate your victory?” God suggests, doing so in a tone that makes sure Xander knows he doesn’t really have a choice. Xander doesn’t verbally agree but follows God to the lounge nonetheless.
“I would say I am surprised that you are the one who has made it here but that would be a lie,” God starts the conversation as soon as they sit down upon the lavishly embroidered couches. Xander remains silent, knowing God can have the conversation all by himself if he wants to.
“Not in the mood to contribute? I guess you are harboring some guilt over crushing your friend’s dreams. I would not worry yourself over it, it is like I already told you, an ordinary man like him could never match up to someone like you,” God reiterates what he told Xander in the arena as soon as he defeated Drakthar.
God continues once he realizes that Xander is intent on remaining silent for the duration of their time in this room, “Still, I did not expect you to be as brutal as you were towards him. I guess holding Gwendolyn over your head really did motivate you to win. Even now I can feel the resentment driving you forward”.
Xander holds his tongue no longer, tired of God’s mind games, “Are you done? The ruse is up, I’ve made it here so you don’t have to continue with your pointless games. We both know what you did, repeating it over and over changes nothing. How did you even get to be this irritating?”
“Now come on Xander, I am saddened to hear you say this,” God lies, the opposite being true as this type of conversation brings him a large amount of joy.
“You and I are actually quite alike,” God claims much to Xander’s amusement.
Xander finds himself laughing at the thought of it, not able to see anything that the two of them have in common.
He stops himself for a second to comment, “That’s the funniest thing I think you’ve said this whole time. I mean how delusional can you get?”
“You can drop the whole self-righteous act, you might claim to be some noble hero but your intentions are just as self-serving as mine. Both of us abuse our powers to our own benefit, as we should, it is only natural to use the gifts one was given to their advantage,” God goes on, liking Xander to himself.
“That’s bullshit and you know it. You go around manipulating people for your own amusement. All I’m trying to do is get my friends back and get out of here,” Xander rebuffs his assertions, not believing for a second that they are alike at all.
“But it is not bullshit. I can give you one very glaring example. You claim that you do not abuse your powers for your own desires but if you recall the events that gained you renown, it is obvious that is not true. You are not some noble hero who wanted to help all of those discriminated against within the Sacrosanct Empire, no you only did those things out of revenge. If you never learned that Alexandros and the Purity killed your family you would have lived out your life ignoring those troubles. You might have even accepted Alexandros’s offer and continued that cycle of discrimination yourself. We both know you did those things out of revenge not because you are some noble hero,” God really drives the point home.
Xander is speechless, as much as he wants to object he can’t, God’s words not being far from the truth.
“See, we both enjoy playing the role of God, I am just better at it,” God leaves Xander with those words, getting up to exit the lounge, their conversation ending exactly as he intended.
Days pass following Xander and Drakthar’s battle within the arena. At the doctor’s residence, Arua fully recovers, her injuries not as severe as the other two’s. Despite recovering she hasn’t left, choosing to remain much to the dismay of Kali, who is forced to be in the same room as Arua waits at Drakthar’s bedside.
Drakthar finally awakens, for the first time feeling the agony of all of his injuries, the pain being dulled during the fight by the adrenaline pumping through his body. He sees a blurry mass of red above him before his vision clears enough for him to realize it is Arua.
Suddenly a different face comes into his view, one he is unfamiliar with.
The man above him begins to speak, his words initially jumbled before Drakthar can comprehend them, “Nice to see you are finally up, you took a beating, especially to your head. You’ve been resting for a few days now, best to keep on doing that until things heal up more”.
Drakthar nods, “Alright,” having no problem with taking it easy to get back to full strength.
“Good, seems like you’ll be an easy patient to work with. Now that you are up, let’s check out a few things,” the doctor notes as he runs Drakthar through a few checks to determine how severe the damage to his brain is.
“Looks like you won’t suffer any form of long term brain damage from this, you should be relieved,” the doctor informs him before walking away, urging Drakthar to get more rest. Drakthar notices Arua return to the chair by his bed holding up her notebook with something written in it.
I’m sorry that you lost. He reads, not particularly caring about the sentiment. Upon realizing he isn’t going to say anything in response Arua starts to scribble something else. He only won because of his powers. I would know, I ran into the same thing.
Drakthar scowls as he sees this, never one to make excuses for his failures.
“Don’t diminish Xander’s accomplishments, I know first hand how much he has worked to get where he is. His powers are a part of him and as of right now he is stronger than either of us, that is why he won,” Drakthar vehemently disagrees, believing he can overcome the gap that Xander’s powers afford him.
Sorry, you are right. I shouldn’t have said that. I only wanted to make you feel better. She shows him, her face now displaying a frown.
“It’s fine,” Drakthar shrugs it off, knowing what she intended.
I’ll give you some space so you can rest. Arua writes before getting up and going out to get some fresh air. Once she has left, Drakthar looks up at the ceiling, unable to sleep as the realization of his defeat washes over him.
“It’s okay to cry,” he hears a familiar voice tell him from somewhere within the room. He leans up a little, just enough to see Kali lying down two beds over from him.
“I don’t cry at failure, I get back up and continue to move towards my goal… but I guess I can’t do that until I recover so now I’m stuck waiting here,” he responds, the conversation allowing him to stifle his emotions.
“I know... that’s what I admire so much about you. I look up to that drive of yours… I know eventually you’ll achieve your goal. Just know that I’ll never stop believing in you,” Kali tells him, the two of them looking up at the ceiling during this conversation, perhaps making it easier to speak this openly.
A few seconds pass without Drakthar saying anything, Kali sort of expected this, knowing he isn’t one for sappy moments like this.
She relaxes, ready to drift off to sleep again, until she hears him softly whisper, “Thank you”. She allows herself a smile before settling in to get some rest.
More days pass, Kali’s wound upon her back finally scabbing over to the point where the doctor allows her to get up and walk around. Drakthar’s recovery has been far beyond what the doctor expected, all his internal bleeding has more or less subsided along with the injury to his head. The only thing remaining an issue being the wound on the back of his knee.
As the doctor mutters to himself about how inhuman Drakthar’s recovery speed is, Drakthar calls out to Arua in the other room, “Arua, I want to ask you something”. This gives her a bit of hope, causing her to come over quickly to see what it is Drakthar wants to discuss with her.
“When I’m up and walking again let’s have that fight we should have had in the arena,” Drakthar proposes, still eager to cross steal with her even if it is outside of the tournament.
Arua immediately starts to write a response in her notebook, holding it up when she’s done. I will only fight you if you agree to come back to the island and become an immortal.
Drakthar is disappointed by her response, frowning as he has already heard this pitch many times.
“I won’t do that. You know that already. I can’t become one of you. Stop making things complicated and just fight me, I know that’s what you want as well,” Drakthar reasons with her.
I do want that. But that’s not all I want. And if you don’t come with me I’m afraid I’ll never get it. He reads her response. Drakthar knows what she means, unlike last time with Kali he has dealt with feelings like this before.
“If I told you that we could never be like that would it change anything for you? Would you still refuse to fight me?” He asks her, hoping her answer is no. But he doesn’t get the answer he wants, instead, Arua nods, this being the last thing she can do not to lose any chance of being with him.
“I hope that one day you’ll change your mind about that,” Drakthar comments, looking down at the sheets covering him. He doesn’t look up at the message that Arua wrote him, holding it up hoping he will look up again.
She rips it out of her notebook and puts it within his view. Leaving as soon as she knows he has seen it. Written in her perfect handwriting Drakthar reads the words: I hope that one day you’ll change your mind too.
Drakthar looks up but she is already gone. He decides maybe this is for the better even though he really wished to test his skills against her.
“Why do women have to be so damn complicated?” He mutters to himself as he puts down the paper from the notebook.
“Ah, the great mister Drakthar is still having problems with women. You know many men including myself would love to be in your situation, having two beauties vying for your attention,” Maximus waxes poetic as he walks into the room, having overheard Drakthar.
Drakthar scowls, not wishing to speak with this man, especially not now.
“I just got finished talking with the doctor, it should not be long until he will let Miss Kali and yourself go. Do you plan on staying here or did you want to meet back up with Kayde?” Maximus asks, piquing Drakthar’s interest. He doesn’t need Drakthar to respond to know his answer.