As Kade forced more and more of a dead man’s power through his body, the world went by faster and faster. It felt strangely natural, and yet not, all at once. The landscape was a blur, sometimes briefly recognizable as water, forest, or dusty plains. At first he could tell that the two men he followed were holding back on his account, but once he’d gotten used to manipulating energy at such a scale, they were all running full-out.

So this is Finalis, Kade thought, as he struggled not to lose himself in the overflowing power coursing through him. The world seemed small to him now, not just because he was capable of moving across it so quickly, but also because his senses had expanded, and he could feel that for this short time, he was an apex predator. There was almost nothing on or inside this deadly, threatening world that was a match for him.

And he reveled in it.

It felt like this was the purpose of his life, of his journey, to attain ultimate strength and then direct it at his enemies. The feeling was intoxicating, and he wondered if this was a taste of what he’d been warned about: the true nature of an Elder Soul. Thankfully his two almost-brothers were a stabilizing influence.

Not only were his feelings of grandeur diminished by being so close to two similar powers, but he found that the more he channeled Kadeus’ energy, the more familiar these men seemed. It was an interesting, and confusing feeling, as–in some ways–his mind felt lighter than it ever had. As if only now that their influence was gone could he tell that there had been other wills pushing him from within.

On the other hand, Kadeus was still there, and more powerful than ever. It was different, as he had a great deal more in common with his namesake, and so the influence felt subtle. He knew he would never give up, and that he had an almost palpable need to never stop charging forward, but these feelings seemed to have always been with him. They were simply amplified.

He could sense they were nearing Karavash, and he pushed away his reverie. Kade noted that they were actually returning to the massive corpse that was once their enemy, and with a start he noticed he could actually feel the raging battle of the Keepers nearby. Sal’s power shone like a beacon in his mind, and he contented himself knowing that the talented Sorcerer would stop at nothing to protect their comrades.

Turning his attention back to the other two men, he realized they were signaling that they should stop at a nearby mountain peak. Moments later, they came to an abrupt stop, high in the Karavash mountain range. It was jarring to suddenly be standing still, and Drakus had to put a steadying hand on his shoulder. When he’d recovered, he followed his senses to find their target on a distant summit.

“I’m surprised he knows how to do that,” rasped Psylaric. “He must have learned something in this new age.” Drakus looked as unsure as Kade, and shrugged. Once more Psylaric reacted without turning. “The World Shaper is embedded in the mountain, and the ritual is in progress as we believed. However, he’s erected a shield of power around the site, including within the stone,” he sighed. “It’s Soul-tethered.”

Drakus cursed, then noticed Kade’s lack of understanding. “Soul-tethered means he’s tied the shield directly to his own Soul Core. Hitting it is like hitting him; it will draw energy directly from him. Very dangerous unless you’re exceptionally powerful, as a stationary shield is far easier to damage than a rapidly dodging warrior.”

Kade considered, “So we have to attack it, or him, enough to bring the shield down? I suppose that doesn’t change the plan much.”

“Except that the ritual will continue while we do so,” Psy said. “It means we have even less time than we’d hoped. Are you both–” he cut off as a laugh rang out above them.

“No, please, take your time,” said the man Kade had once known as Lothros. He was hovering just above them, his battlestaff held in two hands before him, while the other two arms glowed with power, clenched into fists. The perfect face looked down, at them, with the confidence of the already victorious, and his horns gleamed in the sunlight.

“I didn’t expect this. The Princes have returned! To think on this marvelous and historic day you’d give me the gift of your inevitable deaths once more,” Drakus’ silver helm slammed shut, and a familiar silver spear appeared in his hands. At the same time, the world seemed to darken around Psylaric as the man prepared himself. Karavash laughed again.

“You’ll find it won’t be as easy to dodge and hide this time,” the false priest chided. Psylaric looked from Drakus to Kade, who grinned hungrily. Then the battle was joined.

***

Salarus had never imagined such power was possible. The elements were his to command, all of them. There were numerous forces that his people didn’t even know qualified as such, like light, darkness, and even a spark of something divine, all of which heeded his magical call.

He floated protectively over the ranks of remaining Keepers, Bringers, and Priests of Karthas who had some difficult days ahead of them. He’d surrounded the remnants of the army with walls of stone, ice, and even a dome of energy composed of several elements woven together. They were now safe enough for him to truly unleash his master’s power.

When he’d met the mysterious ancient Sorcerer as a child, he’d been forced to take a great deal on faith. The man could do remarkable things, to be sure, and his knowledge was extensive, but ‘Sythkara’--as he now knew him to be–had barely been capable of any significant displays of power. Still, his master had helped him to form his first spells, and earned his trust over the years.

Now he had a taste of what the man had once been capable of, and he was truly in awe. His wildest imaginings of what the ultimate expression of sorcery may be capable of were nothing as compared to the power he now wielded, and he had just enough of his Master’s memories inside him to understand that he was still using magic like a hammer, whereas Sythkara was a conductor, a surgeon, and more.

Still, each moment that past seemed to reveal another secret, another method, another avenue for the magic to follow. As the waves of monsters and Elders didn’t slow, Sal was enjoying testing an ever-growing array of powers, the latest of which explored a knowledge of dimensions he couldn’t have guessed at. Portals opened to places composed entirely of foreign energies, which erupted in different colors to wash over his enemies like waves of destruction.

Some of the creatures were incinerated, others frozen to the smallest building blocks of matter, and yet more met fates as disturbing as they were fascinating. One dimension had unleashed nothing visible, but hundreds of monsters had aged to crumbling dust in seconds, something Sal didn’t even know was possible on Iros. He didn’t dare tap that dimension again.

Thankfully Salarus was an academic at heart, as he sensed that his friend Kade might have been bored by now. No creature here, certainly not the lowly beasts, and not even the most powerful Elders that ceaselessly charged his position were any real threat. Sal was content to enjoy the experience as the masterclass in magic that it was, and be grateful for this chance to save the forces of Karthas.

It wasn’t until his second hour of slaughter that anything changed. Salarus had begun to worry that his borrowed power would run out before the seemingly endless hordes of monsters, and he’d shifted some of his focus to a tactical retreat. Anton, augmented through spells to be larger than most Elders, was slowly but steadily marching back toward Karthas, with the entire camp of Keepers now ripped from the ground, and resting on his back.

Sal was fighting a slightly more engaging battle as he was forced to fly around his enlarged companion to defend from attacks on all sides–as well as some from below, as Elders occasionally burst from the ground. They were making steady progress when Salarus felt something that shouldn’t be possible. One of his spells, left to devastate the ranks behind them, had somehow cut off early.

For a desperate moment Sal thought his master’s power had run out, but he could still feel it, strong as ever. He raced back behind Anton to investigate, and was surprised to see an extremely unusual Elder approaching. The being was large, though not especially so, likely no more than thirty meters tall, and it was wearing a cloak.

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The massive black garment was shredded from age, but still covered most of the strange being, with a dark hood pulled up to hide the face in darkness. Most unusual of all, the Elder wasn’t walking, but was hovering over the battlefield, approaching at a steady pace. Sal couldn’t see any legs beneath the torn, trailing ends of the dark cloak, but six arms were held out to its sides, peeking out of dark, billowy sleeves.

Salarus found himself staring at the unusual Elder, as thoughts strained to coalesce in his mind. As the ominous being grew closer, he realized that each of the hands were moving in a series of very intentional gestures, and his eyes widened in shock when enormous glyphs began to appear around the Elder. There were six glyphs–one for each arm–and they resolved into enormous crystals of different colors, each orbited by countless smaller runes.

It was the sight of the robed Elder surrounded by the floating crystals that finally triggered a memory that was partly his master’s, and partly his own from his trials. He was facing Alomagus, the first Sorcerer.

***

With every moment that passed, Kade felt more in sync with his brothers. As Drakus descended from high above to lance into Karavash, Kade knew his role was to slash from the side, Spite glowing with power. Their enemy countered both strikes, but they were merely feints, granting Psy the opening he needed to send yet another blast of pure Oblivion through the frustrated Karavash.

The battle had been an uneven thing at first, as all four were struggling with complex circumstances. Karavash was new to this level of power–at least in his current form, and he clearly didn't have the battle experience that the princes possessed. Kade was not only struggling with a level of power he wasn’t completely familiar with, but the effortless way the other three moved from fighting on the mountain, to the air, and back, was something still beyond him.

For the princes’ parts, they had fought for ages with nearly limitless energy, and now every blast, every injury, shortened their very limited lives, and they had to ration what was once plentiful beyond belief. Add to all this that the shield was an extremely tempting target, and the battle had been chaos for a time.

Any time one of the three brothers attacked the shield, Karavash would be forced to turn his focus on them. In turn, the attacker would be distracted and risk taking considerable damage from their opponent, who had proved to be extremely destructive. After a time, an unspoken agreement to ignore the shield and focus on each other had come to pass, and now they battled in earnest.

Kade was increasingly able to draw on the experience of his namesake, and he’d managed to use his familiar powers in new and interesting ways. Orbs of Chaos now spun around him, independently sending blasts at Karavash whenever there was an opening, and every swing of his blade would send an arc of deadly energy at his opponent.

Still the ancient Elder was more than his match, and he expertly deflected most attacks with his wicked battlestaff, and sent devastating blasts of purple energy back at Kade to punish every attempt. Karavash had an enormous advantage in that he could fight defensively, while time won the battle for him. Every moment that passed not only meant the end of the princes was closer, but Kade could now see the World Shaper at work.

Kade risked another glance at the shield and saw that nearly a third of the runes inside were now alight, and he felt dread rise up inside him. Karavash needed to go down, and soon, and he was painfully aware that he was the weak link among the brothers. Not only was his ability in combat infantile compared to the veteran warriors, but he’d yet to make any real use of his new Chaos Blade powers.

Master of Energy was still a mystery to him, and Wrathful Strikes was virtually worthless when he could barely land a strike on the agile Elder. He felt like he was letting down not just brothers, but the entire world as he ineffectually swung at Karavash for the hundredth time. True, he was now able to follow his brothers’ lead, but he could barely contribute, and was little more than a distraction.

He knew what he needed, though he feared it at the same time. Knowing there was no other choice, he reached deep inside himself, and pulled. More and more of Kadeus’ power came flooding into him, until he felt like he would burst from it, and then he pulled even harder. He felt like he must be glowing from the energy, and he was certainly shaking with it, but it also had the intended effect.

Memories, and combat instincts from tens of thousands of battles raced into him, and Kade felt transformed. Miraculously he still felt like himself, but it was as if the long dead Third Prince guided him as he leaped back into battle. He now wielded the massive sword in one hand, feeling weightless as he rapidly attacked from every angle. At the same time, his other hand sent continuous blasts of Chaos into Karvash whenever the Elder was distracted by the blade.

Soon Psy and Drak were there as well, all attacking Karavash in perfect harmony, and their opponent looked desperate for the first time. Kade heard himself laughing as the battle finally turned in their favor.

***

Salarus had long been convinced that the name ‘Alomagus the Weak’ was merely a hateful moniker given to the first Sorcerer by his enemies, and now saw for himself the grim truth of that. He understood that each of the summoned crystals was tied to an element, and Alomagus used them deftly to send a continuous series of attacks toward Sal and Anton.

The attacks were basic compared to what Salarus was now capable of, but where his magic was based on clever tactics, his opponent wielded Sorcery like every spell was a bludgeoning weapon of impossible scale and force. Salarus had erected shields at first, and felt them shattered as the powerful beams of ancient magical power crashed through them.

He’d quickly realized that going shot for shot with this Sorcerer of Legend was madness, and instead focused on deflecting the attacks as best as he was able. The trick of elemental combat was understanding how best to counter each type, and thankfully Sal was now capable of producing each spell’s opposite. As the blasts continued unceasingly, he slowly fell into a rhythm, and soon his confidence had returned.

Unfortunately, Alomagus wasn’t as limited as the other Elders that Salarus had been carving his way through, and the massive Sorcerer soon demonstrated that its grasp of magic was beyond the simple elements. Sal was planning how he’d turn his defense into a counterattack when he sensed Anton’s distress. Looking back, he saw the massive stone Aspect being blasted from powerful attacks from either side, and his jaw dropped when he spotted two more identical copies of Alomagus casting spells freely.

Salarus reacted with speed brought on by desperation, as the shields protecting the Keepers wavered under the powerful, sustained attacks. Flying directly above the shield, Sal struggled to split his attention in as many directions as possible, countering more than half of the eighteen blasts of various energy coming from all around him. The strain was on more than just his mind, as he could now actually feel his master’s power being consumed under the assault.

Sal couldn’t understand how such power was possible in an awakened Elder. The others he’d fought had lumbered around, seeming barely sentient, and yet this one was casting spells with power and strategy that was far beyond mindless cunning. With a start, Salarus realized the truth. Alogmagus had Emerged, his mind and power weren’t simply intact, they were elevated to an entirely new level.

***

Kadeus was winning. He felt his blade bite into Karavash for the dozenth time in a span of moments, only to tactically retreat just in time for Drak to slash in with his spear, followed by wave after wave of bladed metal. The moment that attack completed, Psy was there, his fists lost in a blur as they struck, each leaving an empty void where Elder flesh had been.

It was easy. At last Kadeus understood the confidence that Sythkara had expressed, as the brothers had fought truly countless battles over their long lives, and many supposedly more powerful opponents had fallen exactly like this. Kadeus once more slashed in, simultaneously channeling an explosive blast of Chaos into Karavash’s eyes, before retreating once more, this time with Psy taking advantage of the opening.

Kadeus risked another glance at the shield, which now visibly quivered at every strike its Soul-tethered master endured, and saw that the runes were slowly approaching their half-way point. A distinct inner ring of symbols was now beginning to glow, and the Third Prince worried that this heralded some key part of the ritual nearing completion, and he raced back into battle.

The minutes ticked by as Karavash endured attack after attack, his body healing as rapidly as the brothers could do damage, and Kadeus pulled more and more energy from the depleting well of power within him. His mind turned to their father, watching from overhead, and he wondered what the unknowable man thought of this final confrontation. Did it bring him pride, or would he be saddened to see the Cycle of violence that was Iros still existed in some way.

Kadeus was so distracted by the thrill of combat, and the joy of fighting alongside his brothers, that at first he didn’t hear the slow, rhythmic sounds echoing through the mountains. The four were locked in the duel of an age, and none were watching their surroundings. As such, all were blindsided by the unexpected attack, and only battle instincts honed over ages saved Kadeus from being crushed beneath a hand of impossible scale.

His dodge sent him careening into a cliffside, and he felt the stone shatter behind him, but he had a perfect view of the newcomer. Karthas, in all his glory, had emerged from behind a nearby mountain, one hand wrapped around its peak, while another withdrew from the devastation his attack had caused. The four-armed Ancient was grinning as he looked down at the comparatively miniscule warriors.

“Father! I’ve arrived at the battle at last. Apologies for my lateness, but I had some things to consider. When I saw the miraculous way your old body had been reshaped by the Gods, I knew my own path was clear,” the enormous Elder began to glow ominously. “Now, allow me to show you what true power is!” and then the battle began anew.