Shifting my view, I saw the fires blaze with greater vigor. She was right. The match wasn’t over. The giant rose; his wound healed. The mark of blood blazed with fire and he roared to the heavens.

Hah! To have been brought to the ground by the power of that detestable King of the Gods! You who called his power see my heart blaze with the wrath of my kin. Now shall the power of the Grahuvizatan be displayed with greater force than has ever shown to one of your ilk! My anger roars for the blood of this child. Let him halt my advance by death alone!

“Is this something to be laughing at, master?” I said, shaking.

The words of the giant made me tremble. The fear I felt at the beginning of the battle returned with greater force.

“Worry not, child,” my master said, “I will halt the battle should it come to death. Yet I have faith that if you have made it this far, then you must indeed have the power to halt him!”

The sage was confident. Her resolve in me was greater than my own. I felt pitiful. For what reason had I to fear death? The dragon gave me the first taste of that fear removed. Why should I continue to suffer under the toil of pain of an event that is as fleeting as the air itself? I had already died once. Why must it matter now? Was this why I was being pushed to such extremes? Not just by my master. Not just by my commander. But by all the forces of the world.

I had come to face death properly. My death before was tainted by the evil I had incurred. And now the second chance at righting my wrongs was given face front. Shouldn’t I take it? Shouldn’t I hold my head high and face death who had already sought to claim me on my new birth?

My mind calmed. I exhaled heat in the now cool air. It seemed as if the world around me was changing in its seasons. From across the horizon, I heard the calls of the wayward. The din of the lost on the plains sullied my war waged by the forsaken kin.

Their hatred spread far and wide and sought to even taint our minds in the fleeting peace we had at last constructed after many eons of war.

There was no question that they must be stopped. There was no question that I had to face death. There was no question that I had to face my fears. There was no question that I had to rise from all this. And at the very end, become what was meant for me.

“Horses, are you ready for one more ride?”

They neighed and reared themselves high. Their terror hadn’t fully subsided, but they held brave. I mirrored their courage.

I roared, “Seliva Seliho! To war we come; to war we go!”

Stolen novel; please report.

I let the elements blaze with fury. Unrestrained, draining as much energy as they needed. Though it was faint, the surface of the dirt lost its stability. It became as like liquid. Ever so slightly melting.

The chariot raced to the giant. The giant called with fury. Its flames became stronger than before. He strode toward me, his steps shaking the earth.

I readied my bow, and with great twangs, I released arrows potent with the might of the elements! Their forms now imbued, they struck against the giant with such potential that, on impact, they burst with light that filled the sky.

The giant was brought low. I took that chance. My horses galloped with speed rivaling the wind of Vyaytah! When I came close to my foe, I launched arrows above, covering the sky in their mass.

The adversary rose, but was stunned by the rain of arrows.

I continued to ride far, keeping distance from myself and the giant. An idea came to me. I needed the giant to fall to my trap.

“Is this all you can muster, Grahuvizatan of fire?” I goaded. “Come to me! Face me in the battle of intelligence. Show me the resolve of the giants whose wits seem lighter than their mass!”

This angered the giant. He rose once more and his fire blazed stronger than before with his heat able to be felt for miles.

Child of the Marhan! Let my fury be your unmaking! The giants give no release to those who insult them. You who already bear the elements of the thunder god, my hands shall tear you asunder! Your blood shall fill my belly, and I shall be as like a demon to the whole of your kin. My fires will burn and snuff your very life, you who think himself wise against the one whose life far exceeds your own!

He strode to me, with his steps pressing deep into the ground. It seemed as if an earthquake was making its way to me. I gulped and braced myself as the giant heightened his speed.

Fire expanded with space and strengthened with the aether became as even greater spears than what I had beheld. The elongated weapons of doom that seared the giant’s hands were wielded as like swords, whose tips touched the Heavens.

His form became great enough to encompass the entirety of my view. When he drew near, I had the chariot race with the force of the whirlwind. I issued the air from the wheels, and as like the flying chariots had it ascend with grace and speed.

My hands bloodied from the force of holding the elements. They seemed to cut into my flesh. The strain became too much for my weak frame, and I lightened the hold over the air. The chariot slowly descended.

The giant swung his spears of fire, but I drove the horses to the side. The spear swung above and below, leaving embers in its wake. I was relieved to not be burned in their path.

Yet all the while, the chariot only hastened in its movement. As I fell toward the base of the giant, I grabbed my sword and issued lightning along its length. The sparks tinted red as my blood dissolved into the arcs.

With a great swing, I swept the blade around my chariot, cutting the roof of the vehicle and unleashing a wave of energy. The arc of the lightning launched once more, as like an elongated arrow and lo! it pierced the giant’s foot! It fell like a crumbling tower and grabbed its foot in desperation.

The gash had the giant tumble and swerve in the dirt, unable to manage its affliction.

But when its tears and wails ceased, it dug into the foot and cauterized its wound. It swung its open hand against my chariot, and the frame broke. The wheels and axles were crushed by the strike, and they burst into small splinters. I cut the horses’ reins and protected them with air to soften their fall.

Now it was only us.