I blinked at the Godbound’s resounding words as the Great Spirits lay silent. After a moment, I felt the attention of the four of them that weren’t shielding me fall upon my form. I shivered at the force of it, grateful that Anima was protecting me. Still, even her mist had stilled over my form, stopping the flow.

Tarus was the first to react.

Him?

He is not a spirit, shadow.

You cannot challenge a mortal to the Rite of Combat.

But Rhazal wasn’t to be stymied. His crushing voice carried a note of triumph when he spoke next.

BUT YOU ARE WRONG, INTERLOPER.

SEE HOW YOUR FELLOWS GROW SILENT.

THEY KNOW THE TRUTH.

THE PRECURSORS ARE AS MUCH SPIRIT AS THEY ARE MEN.

AS MUCH DIVINITY, AS THEY ARE MORTAL.

AS MY MISTRESS KNEW, SO TOO DO I.

THE PRECURSORS ARE AN EXISTENCE SEPARATE FROM ALL OTHERS.

AS SUCH, THEY FALL UNDER YOUR AUTHORITY.

From the shifting of the flames within Tarus’s sun, I got the impression that he was looking around at the other representations of the Great Spirits. They were silent, with varying degrees of confusion evident on them. From the swirling depths of Neris to the rumblings of Orus, this almost looked to be news to them.

But not Elys. Her moonlight twinkled oddly.

Tarus noticed. His voice affected a note of shock.

Elys?

The Moon finally spoke, a note of almost guilt evident in it.

The abomination is…technically correct.

By rights, the existence of the Precurors is odd enough that they fall under our purview.

We have…simply never exercised that authority.

The abomination is within his right to challenge the child to the Rite of Combat.

Oh.

That didn’t sound good. I’m guessing this ‘Rite of Combat’ was some kind of duel. And…I didn’t exactly fancy my chances against Rhazal. The Godbound would squash me like a bug, and had nearly done so before the Great Spirits had barged into this realm.

Thankfully, Elys still had my back.

A sly note entered her voice then.

However…

The difference in strength is too great.

There is precedence in this matter.

Orus finally spoke up, a mote of understanding entering the grinding rumble of his voice.

AH!

I REMEMBER.

THE RITE THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN SILVENCE AND MANTINE.

I SEE.

Neris cackled then, the waters of her wave undulating from her mirth.

YOU HAVE DOOMED YOURSELF, USURPER.

Tarus finally seemed to understand, but he didn’t sound too happy about it.

Oh, if we must.

But it feels dirty to grant so much power to the apprentice of the man who stole Elys.

I was beyond lost at this point, but I at least had someone close by that I could ask what was going on. I looked down, doing my best to show that I was directing my attention to the diffuse form of Anima that lay all around me.

“Can…you fill me on what’s going on. Uh…Lady Anima?” I asked hesitantly.

Thankfuly, she had no problems answering me.

Just Anima is fine, Nathan.

And yes, I can. I suspect it’s my job, anyway.

What’s happened is that the Harrower has challenged you to a duel.

However, he’s too strong for such a duel to count as legitimate under our rules.

Thus, we’re going to equalize the power between the two of you.

Equalize our power?

“What does that mean?” I asked her, baffled.

Anima chuckled, her mist finally starting to flow once again.

Don’t worry. You’re not in any danger.

I’ll make sure you’re granted quite a boon, for such a service.

I then felt Anima’s attention stray from me, and up to the other Great Spirits.

My brothers and sisters, I am ready when you are.

A note of authority entered the voice of Elys then.

Let the evening of the scales begin.

Before I could wonder any further about what was going to happen to me, the mist of Anima’s diffuse form suddenly hardened beneath me. I almost yelped as I began to be pulled up into the air in the direction of the Great Spirits, standing on a platform of hardened Aetherial mist. When I came to a rest before the representations, and beheld the fullness of their mighty forms up close, I nearly lost consciousness from the pressure of their existences. But just like how my core ring had protected me from the pressure of Rhazal’s voice, it steadied me through this.

Which was a good thing, because they were intensifying.

Above me, I could see the Great Spirits pooling their collective power into what almost looked like a sphere. It was huge, and easily outshone even Tarus in it’s brilliancy, swirling in different colors to form a near rainbow of their own, similar in hue to my own Skill born flames.

Suddenly, a massive tendril of pure Aether lashed out from the sphere, easily crossing the distance of the Concord.

To Rhazal.

It wrapped around his gargantuan form, lifted him into the air, and began to drag him through his own murk.

Closer to us.

The Godbound struggled against the leash of pure power that bound him, but it was for naught. It didn’t flex even once.

WHAT?

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

Elys chuckled at the Godbound’s near panic.

Setting the stage, of course.

Let us begin.

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The Great Spirits shone brighter, their forms almost sharpening somehow

Whatever it was that they were doing...they'd started.

Rhazal arched his titanic back and screamed, his previously folded wings flaring wide and straight in his agony. He tried to scrabble against the massive tether that had bound itself to him, and it wasn’t hard to see why.

I think…it was draining his Aether.

Swirls of black and red smoke were flowing up that binding and collecting within the orb of strength that the Great Spirits had collected. When it reached that mass of power, it looked almost like…it was being purified. The malice and corruption that tainted the Aether was being drained away, leaving only the purity of green and blue in its wake. The refuse from the process was being dissipated out into the darkness of the Concord, flowing away into nothingness.

Rhazal objected to this, of course.

NO!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

But the Great Spirits didn’t care. Instead, Anima just chuckled at him, for the first time sounding almost sinister.

What are we doing?

But…isn’t this what you wanted?

For a Rite of Combat to be legitimate…the participants must be close in strength.

We’re just taking what we need…from YOU.

You should not have called for a Rite that you did not fully understand, fool.

In a much gentler manner than it had with Rhazal, another line of Aether extended down from the orb above me, and snaked its way down to rest in front of me. I braced myself for whatever was about to happen, but I didn’t need to worry. The swaying end of the line gently connected to my chest, and I nearly doubled over at the sensation.

I swear, it felt like a livewire had just been connected to my very soul. The core of my being, where the crystalline tree dwelled, suddenly began to be flooded with Aether. The walls of my soul flexed like they were stretching, like a taught muscle was being extended. It wasn't...painful so to speak, but it was a bit uncomfortable.

I…God. It felt like I was suddenly growing stronger and stronger at a rate that was unbelievable. Newfound power flooded my body in a surge that tingled through every single cell of my being. My hair felt like it was standing on end, and…

Holy crap, I was glowing. There was an actual, Aetherial glow rising up from the depths of my being, shining through my skin. Suddenly, I felt an itch inside of my brain, and something happened that nearly caused me to start weeping.

I reached up, and tore off the bandage covering my left eye.

I no longer needed.

I could see through it once more. Where once only darkness greeted my blinded eye, now it beheld the entirety of the absurd events happening around me. But…my middle ring didn’t return. Whatever had happened to me when I overtaxed myself saving Sylvia…this wasn’t enough to fix that. Ringed Mind was still damaged in some way. That was fine, though.

It was enough to see again.

“Thank you,” I whispered into the air.

I swear I could hear the smile in Anima’s voice when she spoke next.

Oh, we’re not done.

You’re still missing a limb, after all.

I felt a bolt of lightning run down my spine at that, before looking down at the stump of my left arm in disbelief.

Were they about to…was that even….

A note of regret entered Anima’s disembodied voice.

Unfortunately…

We can’t regrow the arm.

You were too successful in integrating your prosthesis into your soul.

It’s a part of you, now.

Instead…

We’ll just replace what you gave up, to save your love.

Don’t worry.

We’ll use your own design.

It’s right there in your soul, after all.

Before I could even process what she meant, another leash of pure Aether whipped down from the purification sphere above. It connected itself to the cap of Mithril and Gold that I had melded to my flesh those months ago.

I heard Elys whisper something through her concentration.

You’ll have to shape it, Orus.

You’re the greatest crafter among us…

I heard Orus rumble in agreement from his mountain before he directly spoke to me for the first time.

IT’S AN INTERESTING DESIGN, I’LL GIVE YOU THAT.

I CAN SEE THE INFLUENCE OF THE DWARVES UPON IT.

STILL.

IT CAN BE IMPROVED ON.

Before my astonished gaze, the Aether that was connecting to the cap on my arm began to condense.

No…it started to metalize. The pure Aether was becoming a metal that I had never seen before. It shined in a pure white manner, and across the surface of it, I could see flashes of a familiar hue. In the light cast in this dark place, I could see the cascade of my own rainbow fire.

If it was even possible, the new arm that was forming was even flashier than the gold and silver of my previous one. T

When the new arm was finished coalescing, I marveled at it. I could see notes of the design that Grey, Azarus, and I had created, but this almost seemed perfected. More than what even Aetherial Melding could do, the craftsmanship of the prosthesis was impeccable.

Impossibly so.

When it connected smoothly to the cap on my arm, I felt a jolt run up and down the connection. I flexed the fingers of my new arm almost disbelievingly before being interrupted by Tlazo speaking up. I had almost forgotten him, in the astonishment of gaining a new prosthesis. I was lucky I had never dropped the staff in the process.

“Primordium? I thought that was a myth!” The Lich asked disbelievingly, before scoffing in a disgusted manner. “Ugh. You know what, I’m done. I’ve had enough shocks today. You can’t surprise me anymore, any of you.”

I wanted to chuckle at how downright grumpy Tlazo was acting, but something else caught my eye, even as more and more Aether was poured into me.

Rhazal was shrinking.

Where before the Godbound was taller than most castles I’d seen, he was becoming smaller every minute that passed as more and more Aether was drained from him. Slowly, he regressed from castle sized, to house-sized…

To human-sized.

Now, he wasn’t even as tall as the hulking evolved form of his own Revenants.

The diminished Godbound clutched his taloned hands to his monstrous head and screamed. But not in the soul speak he had been in.

No, this was the physical voice he had tried to bargain with me in.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” He bellowed into the suddenly much clearer air. The murk that followed him around seemed to have almost entirely cleared out from this space. It didn’t even matter that it was supposed to have been his own.

He didn’t have the power to maintain it, anymore.

Tarus chuckled maliciously, seemingly much happier with this course of action now that Rhazal had been humbled.

We told you, shadow.

Your strength has been taken and equalized between you and the Precursor.

Now a duel between you will be much fairer.

He trailed off into a series of chortles that caused flares to erupt from the surface of his sun. Elys picked up for him, now that he was too busy being satisfied.

If you manage to win the duel…then the strength will be returned to you.

But only if you win.

Nathaniel.

I nearly jumped at being so directly addressed, but restrained the impulse. Instead, I cleared my throat, curling my new hand into a fist and coughing into it. “Ah…yes?”

Do not worry about the taint of Rhazal afflicting you from…this.

Although we are outside the purview of the System, here in the Concord, you are protected.

His corruption will not touch you.

Unfortunately, that means you won’t be able to keep the power if YOU win the duel.

It will disperse instead.

Uh.

Well, I hadn’t been worried about being corrupted until you said it had been a possibility, but thanks for heading that off? I restrained the impulse to mouth off to a Greater Spirit and merely nodded at the giant moon.

That seemed to be enough for her.

Now.

Let the duel begin.

Both Rhazal and I began to be lowered to the ground beneath us, with the diminished Godbound thrashing and screaming all the while. I found my feet almost easily, but…

Not so much for Rhazal.

The servant of Ixiah stumbled around almost drunkenly on taloned feet, seeming almost unable to hold himself up under his own power. He…was suddenly much less intimidating, now that we had apparently been ‘equalized’.

I don’t even know what that meant. I didn’t even feel that much stronger, physically, which was confusing. I cautiously took a step forward, fearing I would be as unsteady as Rhazal.

But no. I could control my body just fine. I had been worried for a moment that I would suffer the opposite problem of him, and crater the ground beneath me in a display of unexpected might.

However, the movement seemed to have caught the attention of Rhazal. He suddenly turned his crimson eyes in my direction and snarled. “You…,” He hissed. “This is all YOUR fault! I will feast on your soul for A THOUSAND YEARS FOR THIS INDIGNITY!”

At that, Rhazal broke out into a stumbling clumsy run in my direction, nearly tripping over his own feet as he did so. When he reached me, I just…leaned out of the way of his claw swipe.

And then the next.

And the next.

It was…pathetically easy to dodge the Godbound’s ‘blows’. I had faced more adversity from regular monsters in the wilds of Vereden. Hell, I’d had to pay more attention to the flailings of the deformed monsters created by the Break Stones. Rhazal didn't have an ounce of real skill in his monstrous form. I suppose that, since he had been born with all of his power, he had never needed to develop it. Not only that, but we seemed to be, like the Spirits had mentioned, nearly equal in strength and speed. They had taken a damned Calamity, and drained him down to the level of someone that hadn't even passed the first breakpoint.

This was almost…sad.

Almost.

Few things probably deserved this humiliation more.

Tlazo apparently agreed. “How the mighty have fallen,” He said, deep, deep satisfaction in his disincorporated voice. “Disperse ME, will you? HA! This is incredibly cathartic.”

A voice boomed out from above, startling me enough that Rhazal nearly managed to hit me.

Nearly.

DO GET ON WITH IT, PRECURSOR.

I UNDERSTAND PLAYING WITH YOUR FOOD, BUT WE DON’T HAVE ALL DAY.

Wow. I…don’t think I was interested in crossing Neris. She sounded a bit…viscous.

But she was still right. This entire ‘duel’ was a forgone conclusion.

It was time to finish this. And I might as well do it with the Skill that had called the Great Spirits here in the first place.

I looked down at the stave in my right hand, and shrugged.

Well, it had worked earlier, even if it wasn’t supposed to. Might as well see if it would work again.

I pointed Tlazo’s staff at the charging, frothing-at-the-mouth form of Rhazal, and mentally triggered The Scintillant Blade.

When I did, I was finally able to see the power that had been gifted to me.

A colossal blade of pure, condensed rainbow fire instantly sprang into being before me, longer than a house. The glare from the construct was so bright that it instantly outshone both the representations of Elys and Tarus, casting deep, dancing, prismatic shadows through the Concord. It was so massive that I didn’t even need to do anything with it, much less swing at Rhazal.

It had sliced him in half in an instant, after all. With his reduced strength, little skill, and blinding rage, the 'Calamity' had run straight into the point of the construct. His legs and lower arms slid forward underneath the gigantic blade that had bisected him, while his upper half rested on top of it. The dying Godbound only had enough time to blink at me in disbelief before I almost instinctively canceled the skill, sending his torso flopping to the ground.

“How…” Rhazal was only able to whisper before he dissolved into black smoke. All that remained of the former Calamity wisped upwards into the air of the Concord…

And dispersed, forever.

Above me, I heard Tarus breathe in deeply, before letting out a satisfied sigh.

Ah…

Contentment.