Victus awoke the next morning under the shade of a dehydrated oak tree, Alyza peacefully asleep beside him. They had concealed themselves with a bedsheet they stole from the clothesline late last night. He rubbed his eyes, yawning, looking at her. Hesitantly, he lifted the sheet, peering underneath.

“Mmh, it’s cold,” she mumbled, sleepily cuddling up against him. He let go of the sheet, its soft fabric gently falling back into place. The morning overcast that threatened their warmth kept the two of them from getting dressed, even though their clothes were nearby. They would spend about another hour together, keeping each other at a comfortable temperature.

“You’ve such beautiful hair,” she caressed the top of his head, rubbing one of his pointy ears. “And these are so cute..”

It took a moment for him to collect himself, enjoying such affection, “..Cute? They’re cool, not cute.”

“Cool and cute, then.”

“No, just cool.”

She giggled, looking at his shoulders that were exposed. In her hometown, it was rare to see someone that wasn’t human, or white. Victus was part elvish, an ancient race that the current world knew little about, and he had light brown skin.

Alyza wanted to ask him so many questions, but she didn’t want to bore him, which he was prone to becoming often. Instead, she pecked his forehead, continuing to smother him with affection. He smiled, but that smile slowly began to fade.

“So..Last night didn’t just happen because you were afraid we’d die some time soon, right?”

“Of course not!” She was appalled by such an assumption, holding his face by his cheeks. “Vick, I love you, and I’ll always love you, even if you were to somehow be magically transformed into a worm.”

His lips were squished together, “That’s oddly specific..”

“It can happen!” She moved her eyes over his, intensely.

He rolled his eyes, “If you say so..I love you too. We should get dressed before the others wake up.”

They both headed back to the house after getting dressed. On the way there, she noticed a shiny object peeking from his satchel, and she grabbed it, “What’s this?”

He turned, seeing that she was holding the artifact in her hand, then looked back in his satchel, “Hey! You can’t just go and steal stuff from me now!”

“How peculiar,” she examined the pyramid. “I had a toy like this once, when I was a child. Do you mind if I solve it?”

“Solve it? It’s not a toy.”

She began twisting and rotating parts of the artifact, where the lines from its ridges formed, hyperfocusing on a puzzle he wasn’t even aware of. They continued to walk while she fiddled with the pyramid, thunder rumbling throughout the gray sky, “Man, it’s been pretty rainy lately..”

Bright blue lightning struck the ground in front of them, and Victus jumped back, pulling Alyza with him. He put his mask on as a figure rose from the dust, accompanied by a tattered blue cape that flowed in the wind. The man looked to be out of time, his vibrant, buttoned blue coat complemented by a bright orange puff tie that matched his leather gloves. He was wearing a withered tricorne, its shadow concealing his masked face.

“Alyza, go find cover,” he commanded. She looked at the man and then back at Victus, then nodded, running away into the nearby forest with the artifact in hand. The man’s orange lenses followed her as she left, and he dashed in her direction, but Victus got in his way, shoving him back.

“Back off.”

“Ah, so you are the angma,” the man spoke, his deep confident voice slightly muffled by his mask. “Shame Kamren’s new hero is really just a kid with pointy ears and a death wish.”

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Victus didn’t utter a word, instead glaring at the man. He was almost an entirely different person when he put the mask on, like it gave him the freedom to be who he needs to be. Both of them were roughly the same height, which was uncommon for Victus when it came to combat. Still, his instincts told him that it wouldn’t make this fight any easier.

“Step aside. You’ll only delay the inevitable.”

The half-elf slowly bent his knees, entering his combat stance. He inhaled and exhaled, allowing himself to focus, waiting for the masked man to approach. Thunder rumbled throughout the sky yet again, and the man’s fists became electrified. Like lightning, he warped towards Victus at a speed that was hardly visible, throwing a punch swift enough to send him flying. Somehow, the hero reacted quick enough to create a wall of wind that reduced the force of the hit, and he slid back, keeping his feet planted on the ground.

“You shouldn’t be standing,” the man clenched his fist tighter, blue electricity sparking strongly around it.

“I will not fall so easily. The same cannot be said for you,” he threw his dagger at him, and the man caught it with ease, looking at the weapon. Its pommel was facing him.

“The blade would not have punctured..”

Victus rushed at him with incredible speed as well, leaving a short tunnel of mud in the air behind him. The two clashed, and he knocked his dagger out of the man’s hand, unleashing a flurry of light punches on his chest. He hardly flinched, grabbing the hero’s forearms and headbutting him, but Victus only slid back, his feet still remaining on the ground. He slowly looked up at the man, seeing his reflection in the man’s wet, orange lenses. The tricorne was on his head now, and that felt like a victory in itself.

“I’ll admit, I’m surprised you’re still conscious.”

Victus caught the dagger as it fell back down through the air, spinning it backhanded, “I’m surprised you’re still talking.” He attacked him again, this time slashing at him, but the man evaded effortlessly, smacking the dagger out of his hand. The blade twirled upward through the air, until Victus quickly pulled it back into his grip with a short burst of wind, slashing at the masked threat. This happened over and over, the two of them fighting over the dagger, until the man finally threw the blade onto the ground and tackled Victus.

He felt the mud stain his back and the tricorne fall off of his head, pushing his feet into the man’s chest and using a burst of wind to break him off. They got up and threw something at each other’s feet, both of the items exploding into large puffs of smoke that shrouded their position. A streak of orange encountered a flash of red, and the smoke cleared when they clashed.

“This is the longest fight I’ve had in a while.”

“You lose that quickly?”

The man grunted, kicking Victus back.

He held his hand out, several trees in the distance starting to fall over with loud, booming thuds. Victus slowly got up, looking behind himself. His eyes widened, and he quickly ducked as an electrified hammer flew past his head. It lands in the man’s hand, who grips the hammer tightly, becoming even more electrified.

“This battle is over! Hand over the Malefistone, now!”

“The what?!”

“Rraghh!” He swings the hammer in an upward motion, and a beam of lightning flies out towards Victus, who barely dives out of the way. The beam flies along the ground into a tree, decimating its trunk into ashes. Victus turns back to the demigod, holding up his hand, his ring flowing with a mystic green energy.

“Evolution,” he grips the ring, ripping it off of his ring finger, “Fenrir!” The jewelry shatters into shards of light, forming into a giant green wolf that’s already running at the man.

“A pitiful excuse of an Evolution,” he charges up his hammer, slamming the sledge into Fenrir’s chin once he’s within range. The wolf is flung far through the air, crashing onto the ground in front of Victus. He whines, dispersing into a green mist as Vick’s ring slowly reforms.

“The Malefistone,” the demigod steps closer, “I won’t ask again, angma.”

“Do you mean the artifact?” Victus felt exhausted, breathing heavily. “You could’ve said that first, instead of beating the ever living shit outta me..”

“You were in my way, but I enjoyed our fight. You have the spirit of an Asgardian, young half-elf. However, I have much more concerning matters to tend to. Where did the woman go?”

“To the house, I guess..Come on, I’ll show you..Just, put the hammer away, please?”

They arrived at the house shortly. Wolfe was standing outside, resting a greatsword on his shoulder. He glared at the Asgardian, eyeing his hammer. Victus quickly cut between them, “He’s not here to hurt us. Not as long as we give him what he wants.”

“Hand over the Malefistone, puny human.”

Wolfe grunted, walking back into the house.

Alyza stepped out the door, running to Victus when she saw him, practically tackling him with a hug. “You’re back! We were all so worried, after hearing all those blasts in the woods..” She held him tightly, sending him into a cluster of pain.

“Ow, ow, pain! Think my entire back’s bruised-”

“Oh, sorry!” She pulled away, spotting the other man that was present. Her expression shifted from caring to cold, glaring at him, “And you are?”

“Forgive me for my manners,” the man took off his hat and mask, his skin a rich, dark brown. He had very short hair and the handsome face of a god, with a diagonal scar across his mouth.

“I am Magni, son of Thor.”