"Have you packed everything?" Silvana asked as she took the bag off of Nova's hands.

"Yes, yes," Nova answered as he tried to retake it, only to fail as the woman dodged and double-checked it.

Icarius could only watch the two act lovey-dovey, thinking maybe he should get a wife to accompany him as well.

"Be safe," Silvana said as she held the man's cheeks.

"I will," Nova replied with a solemn expression.

"Keep this place safe. I'll be back fast." He resumed as he broke free, ruffling the woman's hair as he approached Icarius.

"I'm ready," he said.

"Let's go," Icarius said as he took out a remnant filled with runes.

Pressing on it, the item glew brightly before a beacon from the heavens engulfed the two of them, tearing through the roof of the house and leaving a gaping hole in the ground.

As the beam of light vanished, Nova stumbled as he held on to a pillar, his vision swirling and his stomach churning.

"I still can't get used to that. Also, my wife is going to kill me. Do you know how much housing costs?," Nova said.

"For someone who does a lot of space bending, you sure are weak at this," Icarius mocked.

"It's time! Time! Not space," Nova corrected as he straightened his back.

"We're here," he whispered.

Before them stood a massive encampment, and in the far distance were towering walls that would dwarf the Stellaris camp. Massive ballistas and weapons of all kinds you will not see in other sanctuaries were mounted on the walls, constantly firing. Hundreds upon thousands of warriors wandered about, unbothered by the loud, blaring noises and sounds of arrows whistling in the air.

"Still as rowdy as ever," Nova remarked.

"It is a war camp," Icarius chimed in as he spotted a few watchers approaching him.

"Master Icarius, what are you doing?!" The watchers asked in surprise.

"Do you happen to know where Ishkar is?" he asked.

"General Ishkar? He's in no man's land!" The watcher raised his voice as a loud explosion thundered in the air.

"I see. Don't mind us; we'll be on our way," Icarius said.

"Let me guess; he's in the front lines," Nova asked.

"As usual," Icarius said as the two vanished before the watchers eyes.

Breezing through the air, they passed by the encampments, allowing them to see the full scale of the war.

Although the fighters seemed unbothered, they could see the constant stream of injured soldiers coming in on stretchers. Some were missing limbs, while others literally had holes in their bodies.

Even now, the fight shows no signs of stopping. Based on the reports, the fight just got harder as a whole new level of monsters came pouring out. They had to constantly fire their weapons lest the beasts get in.

As the two reached the towering walls, they finally saw the full scale of the damage done by the war.

The fields had become barren, as though it were just dry earth expanding as far as the eyes could perceive.

In the far distance were the silhouettes of the mountain ranges, where all the monsters come from.

The sounds of steel clashing against steel echoed in the air as hundreds of warriors swarmed the land, appearing like ants on a siege. The distant reverberations of the explosions sent a cold shiver down the spines of many.

"We should help," Icarius said.

Nova nodded, a grim look present in his face.

As the soldiers fight raged on, a loud thunderclap echoed in the air, taking everyone's attention.

Sparing a glance up, their eyes widened as they saw a figure engulfed in lightning.

"Thunderstorm."

A rain of lightning strikes the land in the mass, shattering the earth and killing the abominations present. However, the attack wasn't random, as it maneuvered and dodged the soldiers.

The warriors cheered as they raised their weapons; seeing the beasts get massacred was a sight of pleasure.

The remaining monsters roared in rage as they retreated, running away with their tails between their legs.

However, before they could even get far, a silhouette struck them from above, grabbing them and tearing them piece by piece in a bloody display of strength.

"Icarius," he spoke, his tone deep and large. Befitting of his bulky stature.

The man was approximately seven feet in height; his arms were bulging along with the scars riddling his tanned skin. He wore nothing but a furry loincloth, along with a black gauntlet embedded with glowing red lines.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Ishkar," Icarius said as he slowly levitated down. But before he could utter another word, the man burst forward, surprising Icarius as he tried to cast a spell. However, another voice intervened in time.

"Slow down."

Ishkar's fist hovered inches from Icarius's face for a few seconds, seemingly moving at a really slow pace, giving the man time to dodge.

Weaving out of the way, Ishkar's fist struck nothing but air. But the strength of his strike was enough as it delivered a large shockwave, stirring the dust back as it towered in the heavens.

"Nova," Ishkar said as he spared a glance at the silhouette leaving the dust.

"Ishkar, long time, no see," Nova replied.

"You've gone slow, Icarius," Ishkar said.

"You're still a brute," Icarius fired back.

Ishkar released a loud laugh as he hugged Icarius tightly, squeezing him tight as the man lost all the air in his lungs.

"Yep. Nice to see you too," Icarius struggled to say as the man dropped him.

"What bought you two here?" Ishkar asked.

"Don't you think this isn't the appropriate place to discuss this?" Icarius said.

"The battlefield is the most honest place. This is fine," Ishkar said.

Icarius sighed as he spoke. "We're summoning the high table."

Ishkar's movements were halted as he spared a glance at Icarius.

"And here we go," Nova said as he backed away.

"The high table...?" Ishkar repeated.

"Yes," Icarius said.

"You know the drill," Ishkar said.

"I know," Icarius replied.

"But this time, you're fighting him," Icarius said as he pointed at Nova.

"What?" Nova said before Ishkar lunged at him.

"FUCK!" Nova roared as he barely dodged the man's advance.

"Five minutes left, Nova," Icarius said.

"Fuck you, Icarius!" The man shouted as he chanted.

"Rapid pace."

For a moment, Ishkar's moves were slowed down as Nova's movement seemed to speed up by twice.

Nova's figure zoomed forward, as though he were sliding and not dashing. As he did, he sent his palm forward, slamming it towards Ishkar's chest.

As the effect ended, a loud bang thundered in the field as the bulky bastard was sent flying away.

Nova's fighting style was mostly close-quarters combat. However, the effects of his element forbid him from reaching his full potential. The element of time... a rather problematic power.

As Ishkar flew in the air, he rotated forcefully as he landed on his feet, completely shattering the ground as he faced the impact and halting his flight by force.

"Crazy bastard," Nova muttered. If a normal person did that, their organs would be reduced to nothing.

A loud laugh left Ishkar's mouth as he slammed his fist together, its surface glowing brighter with each slam.

"Is he serious?!" Nova said as he took a stance.

For a moment, time seemed to stop as the two muttered at the same time.

"Crimson Barrage!"

"Flicker."

Ishkar sent a plethora of punches forward, so fast that his arms appeared to be multiplying in number. Each punch he sent tore the ground open as hundreds of blood fists launched towards Nova.

Seeing the attacks close in, Nova's body accelerated beyond belief as he appeared to flicker like light. Using this acceleration, Nova flickered back and forth, avoiding the attacks as he appeared in different places in the blink of an eye.

Icarius could only whistle as he saw the scale of the destruction. The other fighters, both outside and inside the walls, watched in awe as the two showed their power.

An unstoppable force and an immovable object.

As the attack ended, Nova's figure finally stopped flickering.

"HAHAHAH, you're still as annoying as ever, Nova!" Ishkar roared in glee.

"You're still a brute," Nova fired back.

Without another word, Ishkar dashed forward as he sent large chunks of earth back.

Accelerating further, he kept pulling the earth as he proceeded forward, appearing like a missile.

"Ah sh*t," Nova said as he chanted.

"Clairvoyance."

Nova's eyes gleamed bright green as he took a stance. Counting the seconds with great care, he waited for Ishkar to arrive.

Seeing the two slowly close the distance, the warriors watching couldn't help but feel anxious as they roared for Nova to dodge. But the man stayed put, facing Ishkar without fear.

As the distance slowly chipped away and Ishkar's fists were inches from Nova's face, he made his move.

Nova swiftly angled his body a little, completely dodging the attack as Ishkar passed by.

The warriors watching couldn't help but fall silent, astounded by what they just saw.

Clairvoyance was an ability that allowed Nova to see the future. Although only for a few seconds, it was enough to see Ishkar's move and when to avoid it.

But Ishkar's advance wasn't done yet as he slammed his foot down, propelling himself up as he circled back towards Nova.

Gritting his teeth, Nova dashed back as he chanted.

"Capsule!"

Ishkar's fist was enveloped in a green sphere as it struck Nova; however, there were neither explosions nor force as the man just dashed back. As he gained distance, the sphere finally vanished as a loud explosion followed, tearing a massive hole in the ground.

Rising up, Ishkar's face was full of excitement as he cracked his neck.

The two exchanged blows as the earth shook, but Ishkar showed no signs of fatigue.

Meanwhile, Nova couldn't help but cuss internally. But this time, he simply stood there as Ishkar threw a large swing at him.

But before it could even touch him, Icarius swept in as he caught the attack, absorbing the shock of the blow.

"Time's up," Icarius said, smoke billowing from his hand.

Ishkar withdrew as he laughed once more. "I will now be of service," he said.

Patting Nova, Icarius said. "Good job."

"Fuck you," Nova snarled.

"So why summon the High Table?" Ishkar said.

"We need to be private to talk about this," Icarius sternly said.

"Hmm... Follow me," Ishkar said as he launched himself back inside the war camp. Icarius and Nova followed suit.

Upon arrival, Ishkar led them to a large tent with people similar to him guarding it.

Sitting down, the man spoke. "So? Ready to answer now?"

"Recently, the attacks of the beast have increased. You of all people should know this," Icarius said.

"However, what you did not know is that something foul is at play," Icarius followed.

"What do you mean?" Ishkar asked.

"I'm saying all of this isn't normal. Someone is manipulating these monsters to attack us," Icarius answered.

"Who and how?" Ishkar asked.

"It's the ministry of light. They're the ones pulling the strings," Icarius said.

"As for how, we are not sure yet," he resumed.

"The church? I thought they were all good and kind?" Ishkar asked.

"Well, it seems they are wolves in sheep's clothing," Icarius said.

"So what's the plan?" Ishkar asked.

"Currently, I wish to take the both of you back and discuss this issue with the others. Then we'll decide what's next," Icarius said.

"That is a hard proposition," Ishkar said. Much like Nova, he had duties here.

This place was a war camp. The wall earlier was one of the defenses separating the monsters from the humans.

Every day, there are what they call waves. These waves of monsters will appear and try to scale the wall; that's when they'll send the warriors to fight.

However, going out there when it was calm and without any monster sightings was also suicide. The only reason they were capable of sending armies out there was because they were numerous and the enemy was visible. But when it's calm, there is nothing. No movements, no sounds, not even silhouettes. They'll just ambush you out of nowhere and drag you to the depths.

Ishkar was often on the front lines, dealing with the most troublesome bastards. Leaving now would increase the burden on his people and the warriors risking their lives.

"I understand. But the severity of this problem is extreme. I believe that if left unattended, it might plunge into a war of legendary proportions—something Ergo has not seen," Icarius said.

Ishkar fell silent as he contemplated.

"Give me some time," he said.

Icarius and Nova nodded as they left.

Now, they can only wait.