Remus smashed through the carriage window with one flaming fist. “Get on top of the carriage!”

Damion followed his instructions, smashing his own window and swinging himself onto the carriage roof. Side-by-side, brothers fighting as one, they confronted a face Remus had never wanted to see again.

“Sorry to gatecrash the family gathering.” Edmar’s face was blank, one of his hands extended out to the side. There, golden light projected outwards, glowing with all the force of a supernova. Golden Inklings circulated all around them, sparkling in the late evening light.

“Edmar.” Remus ignored how tightly he was clenching his fists. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

A floating sea of golden coins immersed all their carriages, forcing them to slow down. At this rate, they would be stranded with one ultra powerful Wealth clansman to deal with.

But the numbers favoured them.

“You’re outnumbered and outgunned here Edmar, what do you think you’ll achieve?” Remus asked.

“Don’t tell us you're still a dog to that clown Damosh?” Damion held back no punches, Mark already flaring into power. Carpentry tools spun through the air. For a man with a broken arm, he seemed awfully keen to start a fight.

“I thought I would see how far the mighty Carpentry Clan has fallen.” Damion’s words seemed to have rubbed Edmar the wrong way. Now the ex-taxman was returning the favour. “Andreas dies, and this is your new sect leader? Your first fight with that title, and you’re the only one of your men injured. Why don’t you tell the kids in your clan about a new job opening? I’m sure they’ll rule with much more conviction.”

Damion took a step back, as if the words had physically slapped him. “Call back your attack.”

“Scary.” Edmar sweeped his leg out in a warning strike, forcing them to keep their distance. Remus was about to dive into the man when he noticed something.

That stink. The energy that was emanating off him. Remus felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“Damion!” Remus couldn’t have shouted louder. “He’s Tainted!”

His brother’s face flickered to face him. “What-?”

A fist made of coins smashed his brother off the carriage.

Ichor streaked down Damion’s face as he clinged onto the carriage side. Momentum alone was carrying the vehicle forward, the horses having long since fled. The turning wheels came to a grating halt on the ground below.

Now they were trapped. Trapped with one of Damosh's strongest clansmen. One whose powers had been amplified by Enos. The carriages up ahead only made it a metre or so more, until they too came to a lagging pause.

Carpentry and Ambition clansmen were already crashing out of carriage doors to come to their assistance. There was no way Edmar could win this fight. But then Remus roved his spiritual senses over the man.

His Rank. What was his Rank?

Enos’ touch already mystified his true power, but something about Edmar felt off, almost dirty. The power didn’t feel natural, and not just in the corrupted sense.

Edmar threw off his waistcoat. It was too weighed down by jewels to be carried by the wind, slapping against Damion as he dragged himself to a shaky stand on the wet earth below. But on the Wealth clansman’s body, strapped to his bare skin by crossing bandoliers, were dozens upon dozens of elixirs. Edmar reached down, grasped three between his fingers in an awkward hold, and downed each.

Remus was too startled to do anything.

The man groaned, each of his veins bulging against his skin. Edmar had an impressive physique, as much as Remus hated to admit it. He was more muscular than Remus, but if Damosh’s right hand man was willing to buy his way to power through elixirs, what would stop him from drowning his body in steroids?

This was madness. Remus had listened long enough.

The sight of Edmar’s Tainted Mark was the last straw. Along his abdomen, the blackish artwork slithered around his skin, as if alive with a malicious will. Remus couldn’t even identify what the Mark was supposed to be depicting. Hopefully it was Damosh’s face, so Remus could beat the both of them at once.

It was Remus’ turn to throw a cloak off his body, revealing a new and improved set of Infirnite armour. Lightning crackled across his body, the sky above opening up and beginning to pour it down. Remus wasn’t sure if that was his doing. He had no powers over nature, but it was like the world itself was resonating with his power.

Curtains of rain slapped against his shoulders. His hands landed on his chains as Edmar came rushing forward, suddenly adorning a suit of golden armour.

Remus whipped his chains through the electric air, Infinity flooding through each link, propelling their speed to match Edmar’s.

The Wealth clansman flew between the attack as easily as if they were sparring with blunt wooden swords. Jewelled gauntlets smashed into Remus’ face.

Remus dug a foot into the carriage roof, smashing through. The two of them went toppling into the vehicle's interior in a huddle of limbs. Remus’ eyes were watery from his bloody nose, but he saw the flames immersing his body with perfect clarity.

He was going to melt that armour right off Edmar’s body. Remus grasped Edmar by the neck, the man mimicking the movement. Remus concentrated Ambition into the tips of his fingers, plasma forming over each of his fingernails as he pressed through Edmar’s neck guard and into flesh.

Edmar’s chokehold never relented. Remus was starting to feel starved for air, but blood had begun to drip down Edmar’s throat. He would end this right here, right now, before things got out of hand.

Then the carriage was thrown through the air.

Remus hadn’t seen what happened. One moment, he was on the cusp of tearing Edmar’s throat into bloody shreds, and the next, they were spinning in the sky. The pair of them lost each other’s hold on the other. They were sent smashing against the walls, like balls being rattled inside of a can.

Thick Skin came to Remus’ aid, absorbing the damage as he tried to remain as still as possible, allowing gravity and momentum to swat his body around. Edmar was a blur, but his extravagant set of armour was absorbing most of the impact.

Finally, Remus grew tired. Eruptive Will concentrated into one fist. He punched the nearest wall, smashing through the wooden barrier and flying out into the open air.

He watched the flaming carriage fall to the ground, hurtling towards a golden mound of coins. Hovering on his flaming palms, Remus saw what had happened. The Inklings formed together to create a gigantic, metallic fist, one that must have sent their vehicle flying. Edmar has saved himself from having his throat severed.

Remus’ eyes caught motion to the side. Edmar stood on a hovering carpet of congregated jewels. All around them, other Ambition clansmen propelled themselves into the air through flaming hands. Exactly in the same fashion as Remus.

Edmund came into view. A second later, and Damion rose up on a floating plank of wood. It was visibly shaking. Methods of light were normally roundabout. God-Graced could push the boundaries of their power into creative directions, making flight much easier. But until you grew that strong, a lot of clans had rather subpar methods of flight.

And Damion’s trembling plank did not look reliable at all. If Damion fell and broke his other arm, Remus was going to kill him.

“We take down this bastard together Remus!”

Those words seemed to scrub away any lingering doubt. This idiot. He thought, grin widening. “Together as brothers?”

“Together as brothers!”

The sound of a building exploding resounded all around, as the carriage finally impacted. Coins and wooden shrapnel whisked through the air.

Remus ignored the sound, rushing into the fray when three black voids opened up. Remus came to a staggering halt mid-air.

Immediately, Damion was swept to the side, encased by the murky blackness. More and more Ambition clansmen joined him, as if magnetically yanked closer. Remus felt that same pressure acting on him, but was able to resist its effects by tensing his every muscle. The remaining Carpentry clansmen down below could only watch up in horror. Out of them, only Damion had been willing to try such a risky mode of flight.

And he had paid the price for it.

Edmar’s voice boomed through the air. “As you know Remus, my clan was born out of the Greed Sect, overseen by the god Aisha. It’s a loose connection, but even I can draw from that pool of power, if I stretch the Wealth domain to its limits.”

Remus recognised the void-like ability. Back when he and Violet had been caught up in a feud between a Fury, and Greed God-Graced. In that despicable pit of Hell’s Floor. He was getting Deja Vu just looking at the consuming rifts.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

But to draw so abstractly from one’s subject of power . . . that sounded to Remus like a Mercenary’s level of Mark manipulation. But Damosh was taking hits and brushing them off like he was a Warden.

That could only mean one thing — he was a Warlord. A Rank with all the individual strengths of the Splintered Ranks, only with none of the weaknesses.

Everyone but Remus had been anchored by the voids. Remus wasn’t sure who to aim for, when the black rifts began to rush out of sight.

“What have you done with them?” He screeched, hands clammier than ever despite the fire gushing out of them.

“Don’t worry, they won’t be hurt.” Edmar smiled. Remus wanted to punch those pretty teeth loose. “This is a fight between you and I, Remus. No interference. After all, isn’t this what you always wanted? A fair match against me?”

Remus screamed, whipping his chains, forming serpents of lightning through the air as he did. “I’m going to break every bone in your body.”

Edmar leaned inwards. “Try me.”

There was the sound of a bullet going off, and Remus launched into Edmar’s chest. The pair of them went flying through the air, a corona of golden coins flying past as Remus pressed forward.

Edmar’s armour had recovered from the fire, and Remus’ punch only served to dent it. His chains reached out for Edmar’s wrists, trying to lock him down. The man only tugged on the links, bringing Remus closer. Edmar fought dirty, but Remus was not expecting the headbutt.

Stars danced in Remus’ eyes. His voice rose until it was nothing but a shrill hiss, electric waves of Ambition emanating from his body and trailing down the chains. The lightning erupted around Edmar like a halo. The man only stuck his tongue out, as if challenging the pain to disturb him, bringing Remus closer for a second headbutt. Then a third, fourth, and finally, a fifth and sixth.

Golden blood oozed down Remus’ brow. With one mighty sweep, he commanded an electric wave to sear Edmar’s body, implanting each branch of lightning with Eruptive Will. Explosions bombarded the man, blasting his smoking body backwards.

Fire streaked behind Remus, propelling him forward to sweep both legs into the man’s solar plexus. The golden armour cracked at the chestplate. There, from the gap in the armour, a stream of riches gushed outwards, smashing into Remus. He staggered in the air, summoning a wall of searing white fire to incinerate the barrage.

Remus had probably burnt a bank’s worth of money in that one exchange.

Flying through the smoky remains, heart jackhammering in his chest, Remus’ blue eyes roved around, searching through the steam. There.

A man’s silhouette in the centre of the smog, coins circling around him.

Remus dived into the figure. His potent flames enveloped them whole in a delicious sight.

Yet, when the fog cleared, Remus had to double take.

Nothing but a pile of burning coins floated through the air.

Remus hadn’t reacted fast enough. He turned as another golden fist, the same size as the giant appendage that had destroyed their carriage, blasted him away.

By the time he reoriented himself, Remus couldn’t breathe. What he was seeing, it was beyond anything that Edmar should have been capable of.

Easily the height of a castle, a colossal mound of riches formed a face and two outreaching arms. A huge black void seemed embedded in the creature’s centre, its force of attraction far greater than the previous rifts Edmar had used to imprison his companions.

And this time, Remus faced far more difficulty in defying its tug.

After struggling through two breaths, his strength failed him, and Remus’s body was forcibly dragged forward. The animated pile of riches seemed to boom out in sinister laughter. Or maybe that was Edmar himself, watching this all take place from somewhere afar.

Remus was going to snug the laughter right out of his throat.

A sea of coins washed over his body as he was dragged inside the creature. The Inklings were sharpened until each jagged end slit Remus' body. His Infirnite armour withstood the swarm of sharp points, but it was like his face was being swarmed by five thousand paper cuts.

Use Eruptive Gold. His mind commanded in an impulse of panic. It was tempting to be sure, but if Edmar had enough energy reserves to use a technique this grand, right at the opening of their battle, using his own ace-in-the-hole now would be far too early.

Still, Remus wasn’t going to sit around while Edmar butchered him. An orb of sizzling fire immersed him in a metre range. Everything that entered was swiftly burnt to a crisp, reduced to fleeting atoms.

He would burn through a mountain of gold, if the need arose.

But no matter how hard he tried to move, Edmar’s void locked him in place. Was this Edmar’s plan? To use brute force against him? His fires against Edmar’s gold. Whoever ran out of steam first would perish.

Remus’ mind scrambled for a solution. Clearly, Edmar thought he had enough juice left in the tank to wait Remus out. The memory of his bandoliers surfaced. All of those elixirs . . . Edmar could refresh himself if his reserves ever ran low. How many of those flasks had Remus seen? Twenty?

If he downed each flask, slowly throughout the fight, he would never tire. In fact, as fatigue set in, and Remus began to slow, Edmar would only grow stronger!

Remus snarled in absolute furry, pouring more fire out of his body. He was playing into Edmar’s hands, and he knew it.

Right as he was scrambling for a way out of this mess, Remus felt something. In his spiritual senses, threads slithered like pythons. All coming closer to him.

United in Strife.

Down below, captured by Edmar as they were, his peers still called out for him. Remus connected the thread of his soul to the others, each of them joining together to form an intangible bundle. If the Ambition Clan couldn’t fight with him, they could fight through him.

Their power resonating as one. Their Marks singing the same mournful tune.

The dirge that would play at Edmar’s funeral.

Remus tensed every muscle in his body. His veins bulged against the inside of his Infirnite armour, blood poured through the litany of cuts that had torn his face apart, and his entire body seemed to spasm.

If Edmar wanted Remus to stay put, he would comply. He wasn’t going anywhere. As the flames of his Ambition coalesced into one impossible form, Remus vowed to stay right here.

It began as a body, the white fires stretching out to form a humongous cylinder. Arms followed, streaks of fire crackling with lighting making up two limbs. As Remus’ master-creation only expanded in size, he burnt away at Edmar’s own coin monstrosity. A head, moulded into the shape of a wolf, was the final addition.

Remus floated in the figure’s centre, the puppetmaster of a fiery abomination. He thrashed his arms around, the apparition mimicking the motions and burning away at Edmar’s creation. His own fiery marionette, linked to his will by invisible strings.

It was hard to see through the hellfire, but if Remus concentrated through his spiritual senses, he was sure he could see the void. There, he turned up the heat of his fires. A splatter of plasma soon formed, and wrestling with Edmar’s will, he felt a change in the energy around him. The rift locking him in place seemed to struggle against him in one final squirm of air pressure, before fading all together.

But as Remus had promised, he remained in place. The living heart of his wolfish beast of flame and plasma, and most importantly, Ambition.

Remus swatted the air around him, the fire giant pounding its chest like a gorilla. Hundreds of thousands of Inklings all reduced to ash.

Pushing himself, Remus only let himself breath when the entire form was composed of steaming plasma. Finally, as the cavern of riches relented, and daylight pierced through the reddish-black barrier, he saw Edmar once more.

The goliath of gold was still intact. Seriously damaged, with several gaping holes where Remus had seared through, but able to stand. It wasn’t alive of course, and neither was the plasma Remus was controlling. Yet as Edmar commanded more coins to fill in his beast, popping the cork off an elixir, and downing it, Remus had to imagine what the surviving Carpentry clansmen would see from afar.

Two behemoths. Two titans of power that could wipe out villages with one angry outburst. Fighting against each other in the ultimate showdown.

His Ichor alight, and powers elevated by Infirnite and United in Strife, Remus felt unstoppable. It was a crazy high, but a dangerous one too. It seemed so easy to forget that he was mortal. He was outclassed, but maybe, just maybe, all of the techniques and conditions that were elevating his powers would be enough to close the distance.

Remus was starting to wonder if this was how gods felt.

He stretched backwards, concentrating hot plasma into the beast’s throat. Its entire body recoiled backwards, as a projectile of flaming matter, the same size as the carriage Edmar had previously destroyed, was spat outwards.

Edmar didn’t hesitate. He commanded his titian to smack the projectile with two palms. The thunderclap resounded for miles all around, and even Remus had to flinch at the raucous noise. Both appendages dispersed into their gold, only to hastily reform, as Edmar poured more riches into his creation.

They weren’t making any progress. Remus wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up for. It was difficult to test out the limits of his stamina as a Vanguard. Better late than never, he supposed.

But regardless, he would need to destroy the titan beyond compare, with one or two blows. Fast enough so that Edmar wouldn’t be able to heal his beast in time.

Remus would have to wait for the right opening.

Before he knew what was going on, the ground rumbled as both giants sprinted towards one another. The ground below was unearthed, mud splattering to the side, and a dust cloud forming in the atmosphere.

Two fists — one of flaming plasma, one worth enough to fill a treasure vault — collided in mid-air. Both of their constructs’ arms shook at the impact. Before Remus could blink, five similar blows took place, each one more devastating than the last.

Remus could hardly believe it, as he realised Edmar had him on the back foot. A tower’s worth of plasma almost collapsed to the ground at one shaky step. If his giant fell, Remus would be responsible for starting a nationwide forest fire.

Edmar. He could attack Edmar directly. Unlike Remus, he hovered on a golden vase outside of his titan, instead of controlling it internally. He was guzzling down yet another elixir, as their goliaths exchanged blows. But Remus saw no way to get to him without the man noticing.

The Wealth clansman closed his eyes for a moment, pitching his empty flask and putting two fingers to the bridge of his nose. Was he having a headache? His golden giant swayed on his feet for a second, as Edmar quickly composed himself.

What was that?

Remus’ wolfish giant clasped two hands together, reaching both over his head and smashing down like a barbarian. A hill’s worth of Inklings fell away from the metallic beast at the impact. But still, it was never enough.

Another flex of Edmar’s will saw the hole patched up.

How the Wealth Clan hasn't already caused hyperinflation, I’ll never know.

Remus took a deep breath. He thought of all the people relying on him. His brother and sect leader, left useless against Edmar’s onslaught. Edmund, strong Ambition clansmen, and combat trained men and women from the Carpentry Sect, all imprisoned. Discarded as an afterthought to the main attraction of their showdown. There was no telling what Edmar would do to them if Remus failed here. Death was almost a certainty.

But more was riding on this than their lives. The fate of the world fell upon the shoulders of the Talents of the Future. And as egotistical it sounded, Remus truly believed the survival of Descent rested in his rebellion’s hands. They couldn’t be thwarted here.

Remus gritted his teeth, surged a fresh flood of power though his titan of Ambition, and rushed towards Edmar’s golden monolith.

He would make it buckle at the knee.