Cici winced, Sasha doing her best not to further exasperate her injuries. The fox had a good heart, but boy did her barriers need some work. At least Iris could hold them for a while before she had to rest. Cici had the bad habit of making rocky shells that cracked at the slightest pressure. And Alexander’s insistence on lava diving didn’t help matters.

"Ow. Easy, Sash."

"Bare with it, Cici," she said, applying a cooling ointment. "Mr. Alexander, are you sure we can't take a day to rest up?"

"Oh, you can feel free to, Panther," he said. "The rest of us got a schedule to keep, so we'll be moving on."

She frowned. Was this just how he would treat her from now on? If she didn't need his skills, she would have left a long time ago. She looked to Cici, the fox giving a reluctant nod for her to continue. It took a few minutes, but eventually, she was all patched up and ready for the next round of abuse Alexander tried to pass off as training.

“So why are we doing all this, anyway?” Cici asked.

"Oh, I'm sure your friend there's already figured it out." He gave her a smile. "Am I right, Panther?"

Though the sarcasm wasn't lost on her, she decided to answer honestly anyway.

“It’s called signal training, Cici,” she said.

"Right on the money, kid." The human wasn't even trying to hide his agitation. "You wanna go toe to toe with a god or even a low-level spirit, you gonna need a good handle of your signals.”

Cici nodded, her ears suddenly standing up.

"Wait, but I can't sense signals," she said.

"Don't have to. Every creature in the cosmos has 'em whether they're aware or not. For you, control will probably be like learning to flex a muscle at will."

Cici looked at her arm, giving it a squeeze as she seemed to understand. Now that they were talking about it, Sasha became a little curious. Even if the question might annoy Alexander to hear, she'd always wondered in the back of her mind...

“So are the gods really just spirits, then?” she asked.

The human gave a shrug. “That’s a loaded question, kid. Technically speaking, they’re a form of spirit. But I wouldn’t lump them all together.”

She gave him a blank stare. As did Cici. It was Iris who managed to explain things a little better, the wolf in the middle of meditating a few feet away.

“They're like dragons,” she said.

They both nodded.

“Ah!”

“Guess that makes sense.”

Putting it like that, the distinction became a lot more clear.

Dragons, the giant, sometimes destructive, creatures of myth, were all technically reptiles. But you wouldn't say a dragon and a lizard were the same. Replace those two with spirits and gods and it all clicked in their heads. Sure they were both dead, but every dead guy in the world wasn't some god. Not every lizard was a dragon. But then, that raised another question.

"Wait, the gods are already dead," Sasha said. "Can they really die again?"

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They all looked to Alexander, including Iris, who opened one eye out of curiosity. The human smirked.

"Oh they most certainly can," he said.

The human looked up into the sky. Where the constant stream of clouds and smoke made it impossible to tell if it was day or night. Or even see the stars for that matter. It was an oppressive habitat that the godkiller seemed to understand inside and out, not even bothering to wear a helmet.

"See, somewhere out there is the original place," he said. "Where the first god was born. But he's not here anymore. Any idea why that is?"

He looked around as if waiting for an answer. But he continued before anyone could speak.

"It's 'cus he got axed," he said. "By my great grandfather actually. Funniest story he ever told me growing up. Stupid old man. But it's thanks to him my family's been in the god-hunting business for decades. And if there's one thing I've learned in that time, it's that you're gonna need both skill and power to kill a god."

He pointed to Sasha.

"You, Panther," he said. "Much as I hate to admit it, you've got plenty of skill with your weapon. But it's got no bite. Like fighting with a stick. Sure you might get to tag a grad or two, but good luck killing anything with that funky twig of yours."

She looked down at GT, the weapon almost resonating with her hand. Was it getting angry? Did GT even feel anger? She knew it got concerned with her from time to time. And it wasn't afraid to be supportive. So it made sense the staff could be frustrated at being dismissed like that. She stroked its base, hoping that would help to calm it down. Even if they were a weak team together, she couldn't see herself with any other partner. GT was her strength. And they could do amazing things together when they really tried.

Alexander pointed at Cici.

"You, Cecil," he said. "You've got the power down pat, but your skills need work. If anything, I figure by the end of our training you'll be unstoppable. Might even scare Dyre a bit."

The fox pouted at that, her friend clearly trying to look mad on Sasha's behalf. But her tail gave her away. Alexander's finally looked over to Iris.

"And you, Wolf," he said. "Honestly, you're like a huge middle finger from the universe. Got some skill. Some power. But you're gonna need twice as much of both if you even wanna scratch a god. I mean, your weapon says it all."

She looked at her rapier.

"That little toothpick you call a sword," Alexander said. "Unless you plan on tickling a spirit to death, you're probably gonna end up a smear like the cat. Actually, scratch that. Probably after. I doubt she'd do me a solid and die that easy."

This time it was Sasha getting angry, the panther having to squeeze GT so she wouldn't reflexively attack the human. She didn't know what was worse. The human's words or the look Iris gave as she looked down at her sword. For someone who'd always been so calm and collected, she could see in her eyes that Iris wasn't completely apathetic.

But to the wolf's credit, she still listened to the rest of Alexander's tirade.

"Frankly, it's only because I'm getting paid that I'm bothering to train all three of you," he said. "But whether I like it or not, I've still got a reputation to keep. No one comes to the Godkiller without gaining the skills necessary to kill a god. And the first step on that journey is always to get a better feel for how to use your signals."

He looked to the three of them.

“You’ve all gotten that far, at least,” he said. “So we can move onto something more practical.”

The human extended his hand forward. Sasha's whiskers twitched, Iris's ears standing up. More than likely she felt it too. The sudden change.

Signals were starting to shift around them. Expanding. Growing. She recognized the sensation, all the energy rising through Alexander's body. It was the phenomenon as she'd seen performed by all three of her guardians. The massive spike that preluded a healthy dosage of blowback.

But the godkiller. He showed no signs of injury. Smiling even.

“The next step in the process,” he said. “Make your signals work. Let 'em flow through you. Feed your muscles."

He rose one foot, in the air.

Sasha flinched as it came down, the ground quacking on impact. As if a bomb had just gone off right in front of them. Iris widened at the sight of it, Cici's tail picking up speed. There was no doubt about it. It was the same technique she'd seen Dyre, Mr. Erin, and Mr. Xan use. But without the blowback.

Alexander let out a small breath, his body still channeling signals.

"Do it right," the human said, "and you'll be just as strong as they are."

Sasha couldn't hide her smile.