The General was a surprisingly good listener. I tried reading his face as he took in all he was told and he did not seem at all fazed.

"So," he finally spoke, "you're an immensely powered mage from another world who can do magic," he said pointedly at Pisces then turned to me, "and you're a boy from another world who happened to inherit magic from another immensely powered mage who didn't have enough time to complete his homework before his untimely death and now the two of you have to carry on from where he left off and lay waste to these other beings before they destroy us."

"Well," Pisces shook her slightly, pursing her lips, "that's a bit of an over-simplification, but, yes. That is the gist of it."

"She's more of a Zodiac than a mage and I think I might be from a different time," I offered.

"That's exactly what I said," the General shook his head.

I was about to add something but the look on Pisces's face made me change my mind, or maybe she had done it herself—I couldn't tell. I stopped and decided to shift the direction of the conversation.

"Alright," I regarded the General. His square-jawed face—once riddled with bloody scratches and lumps, similar to my own face and body—was now clean of any defects, all thanks to Pisces's magical healing powers. Man, did that come in handy.

"You said, um. . ." I paused, slightly tilting my head, "wait, what did you say your name was again?"

"I didn't," was his short and straightforward response.

"Well, you said you weren't planning on arresting us and taking us back to your chief," I went on, "and after how you took out that raging Zodiac, maybe you wanna tag along and help us and if that's the case, telling us your name couldn't hurt, right?"

The General let out a deep grunt, his face still blank and free of any detectable expression. He shifted his attention towards Pisces, regarded her, then turned back to me, particularly fixating on my right arm.

"I knew something was off with you the moment I first laid eyes on you," he said, and my mind began formulating images of a magnificent white stallion. For the first time in a while, I thought about Jon. The last I had seen him was when we had left the Seer's Keep. I wondered where he was at that moment.

"You're still the strangest thing I've seen out here, kid, even with the likes of you wreaking havoc all over the place," he turned to Pisces, "no offense."

"None taken," Pisces shrugged.

"Finding you turned out to be easier than I had anticipated, especially after one of your magical folk was captured—"

"What?" Pisces cut in, a hint of surprise apparent in her tone.

"That's right. Some tall purple looking—"

"Pollux!" Pisces and me blurted out together.

"I'm guessing that be its name," the General said, taking in our reactions. "Well, this Pollux now lies chained up in the dungeons together with the Seer who's the one that actually guided me on how to find you."

"Ethel. . ." I muttered, recalling the Seer helping us escape from the Chieftain's army.

"I had to get myself to do something anyway," the General went on, "what with his highness already working on some psychotic experiment by using the Seer's staff to try and extract that being's magic."

I swallowed at this, all while noticing a kind of resentment towards the Chieftain. "Can he really do that?" I asked, turning to Pisces. Her eyes glowed solemnly.

"It's not impossible," she muttered, "our power can be transferred, as we've shortly come to learn." She gestured at my arm.

The General returned his attention to my arm, scrutinizing the black arrow symbol. "So, you're the one that's supposed to fix all of this?" he did not wait for an answer. "And from what I just heard is that you still don't know how to access your predecessor's magic?"

"Well, it's more like cosmic energy," I corrected, "she's the one with more magical abilities."

"Same thing," the General grunted and I think I might have caught some arrogance in his undertone.

"So, what's the problem then?" the General asked, abruptly grabbing my arm, eyeing it like an interesting artifact.

"Hey, easy!" I snapped. The dude had an exceptionally strong grip and he didn't even look like he was trying.

"He can't summon Sage's power by will," Pisces offered.

"But I was able to do the thing with the shield to Tauros," I pitched, hoisting Despyon's shield with my other hand. "that's gotta be something, right?"

Pisces was silent for a while before turning towards me and without warning, she had charged at me, knocking me to the ground with an invisible wave of force.

"Ow!" I lamented, getting back up, "what did you do that for?" I frowned at her.

"See," she ignored me, shifting her attention to the General. "he lacks the reflexive reaction, and without that, there's no way he can tap into Sage's power."

"I'm guessing you've subjected him to this kind of training before?" the General crossed his arms over his silver-plated armored chest.

"Oh, she's done that alright!" I blurted, getting hysterical and even more annoyed.

"So far," Pisces added, "he's only been able to access the power in times of great distress."

"He needs to gauge his reactions to the smallest of provocations first. . ." the General muttered to himself while narrowing his eyes at me. He started walking towards me.

I frowned at him with growing suspicion. "W-What are you doing?"

Just like Pisces's surprise attack, I had found myself with my back to the ground, seated on my ass.

"Have you lost your mind?" I hissed, feeling my jaw after it had become the recipient of the General's knuckles. "The hell did you punch me for?"

"I think I might have solved your little magic problem," the General towered over me, his thin lips twisted into a half smile.

Pisces eyed him interestingly as he added, "I might still not know shit about these other-worldly Zodiac things but one thing remains clear." He looked down at me, no longer smiling, "he's human. Sure, he has been imbued with godlike power but he is still human."

I got up again, making sure to stand a safe distance away from the other two people that seemed intent on using my body as a punching bag.

"So, what are you saying?" I asked, still feeling my jaw.

"You're just a boy," was the General's response, again with that really nice straightforward bluntness. "How do you expect to fight like a Zodiac when you can't even fight like a man."

"Okay," I raised an index finger, though that had not been my initial first choice, "first of all, ouch. Second, didn't you see me take on that super big Zodiac that had been about to drive a blade right through your chest—you're welcome by the way!"

Grunting again, the General regarded me, It was a matter of great distress, as she put it."

Pisces nodded in agreement, turning her attention to me. "It took the three of us to bring down Tauros. The others will come at us with abilities twice as great. You need to let Sage's power in."

"I told you I'm getting there!" I yelled uncharacteristically, "sorry. I mean, it's not easy. You know that."

"I do know," Pisces levelled, "there's just not that much time left."

"Well, then it appears my being here should help speed up things," the General chimed in.

"What are you gonna do?" I asked, still mad at the guy, "beat my ass up some more?"

"Exactly," another direct response. "I said I'd teach you to fight like a man, didn't I?"

"Now, I wish you could've just taken us back to your chief," I shook my head, though I highly doubted Pisces would have gone quietly.

"Whenever you're ready," the General said, flexing his arms and neck.

"What, you mean now?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, chop chop!" the General shrugged, "how else do you expect to go up against these freaks?" he turned to Pisces who cut in.

"Yeah, yeah," she sighed, "none taken."

A little puzzled by what had just happened, the General turned back to me. "Well, lad, let's see how much of a punch you can pack."

"Would you quit it with the whacky nicknames?" I groaned, taking a couple of steps back, "you already know my name and you still haven't told us yours. For all we know, you could be Pollux."

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"What?" it was now the General's turn to look incredulous.

"The shape shifter," Pisces offered, clearing the confusion. "And that's not—"

"Possible," I cut in with a sigh, apparently realizing my terrible deduction. "I know. Pollux wouldn't have helped us take down Tauros. I just think it's a little weird that he hasn't told us who he is."

"If it'll help you concentrate so we can get this over with," the General said, shrugging, "the name's Garuvir Belzak."

I didn't catch that at first, similar to every other name in this place; human or Zodiac.

"That wasn't so hard," I said and almost fell backwards after the General feigned a charge. "So, what are we doing, Gary? Can I call you Gary?"

"No," he feigned another charge and I stumbled back.

"What about Zak?" I fixed my arms in what I assumed was a striking stance, after which I caught Pisces's reaction from the corner of my eye. Wait, did she just roll her eyes at me?

"No," the General, adding a little bit of intensity to his tone this time. He was getting annoyed. Devil may care attitude my ass!

He zeroed in and landed his knuckles against my chest, sending me to the ground.

"I was gauging your defenses," Zak said as I got back up. "you don't have any." Yeah, I was definitely gonna call him Zak from then on and made sure he knew it.

"Nah," I brought my hands together, clenching my fists, "sucker punches don't count. I dare you to hit me again. Come on, Zak."

Zak stopped his gauging routine. "How about you try to hit me. . ."

"You're serious?" I taunted, getting into my own gauging routine by hopping around. "You know I won't hold back, old man."

Zak grinned, shaking his head. "Using humor as a way of masking your cowardice. Not a terrible tactic."

"I prefer to think of it as a way of fueling my confidence, kinda like a boost." I added after I heard Pisces snicker, however so slightly.

"Is that so?" Zak returned, an amused look on his face. "Let's see it then. Come on. Hit me."

I took three steps forward and lashed out with my right arm. My knuckles crunched as they struck against Zak's hand. He swiftly grabbed at my wrist, heaving me towards him then hitting me in the chest, again. I stumbled backwards, feeling myself.

"I knew it," I muttered, fixating on Zak's right hand, "you have a metal arm, don't you?" I also noticed he had been using his other hand to strike. Perhaps it was time I toned down the jokes. He wouldn't hit me with his right hand, would he?

"Yeah, that. . ." Zak said, a little absent-mindedly before regaining his focus. "You need to plant your feet firmly to the ground, otherwise you might as well just be swatting at a fly."

"Be a dear and warn me if he tries to smash me with his metal arm," I turned to Pisces who had decided to take a seat on a patch of raised ground, apparently spectating my "human training".

"Oh, I'm almost certain it won't come to that," she replied shortly, her face beaming.

"That's reassuring," I frowned, turning back to Zak who was already charging at me.

What followed was a montage of ass kicking, eating dirt and some more ass kicking, with the glorified Zak ranting about planting feet, locking elbows and maintaining eye contact. This went on for hours as I noticed the sun sinking beyond the trees. I was getting exhausted. My arms hurt from either blocking or taking in jabs from Zak.

"We're losing daylight," Pisces said, getting up from her spot. "We need to keep going."

I could tell from her face she was trying to hide the disappointment. I hadn't landed a single hit on Zak's body who, unlike me, did not appear to have broken a single sweat. He stopped coming at me, giving me a chance to take a breather, thankfully. "At least you haven't fallen on your ass in the last hour," Zak said. "She's right, we don't want to be caught in the dark right now, especially where we're headed."

Zak's eyes looked past me and into the woods ahead and I was curious as to what he might have been talking about but my weariness got the better of me, exacerbating my growing agitation alongside my irritating Zodiac tattoo.

"One more time," I called, getting Zak's attention as I wiped a wave of sweat from my face before balling my fists.

"Desmond," Pisces regarded me, concern in her voice, "you don't have to—"

"I can do this!" I stubbornly brushed off her words, gauging Zak some more.

"Come on, kid," Zak shook his head, trying to be rational.

"We're losing daylight, aren't we?" I tightened my fists. Pisces was approaching me but she stopped, apparently noticing the spontaneous glowing coming from my arm.

Zak gave in, shrugging, and came at me. His swung his fist, jabbing me in the arm again. I staggered backwards but I remained unfazed. There was something fueling my psyche at that moment; whether it was the anger of losing, the exhaustion or Sage's overwhelming power—I had no idea. I let them all in. I embraced it.

The second blow still caught me, sending me down on one knee. Zak extended a hand, "Get up, slick. Let's go."

I huffed, grabbing his hand but instead of heaving myself up, I tightened my grip and yanked the unsuspecting Zak out of his position, sending him to the ground after which I got up.

"What," I said over my breath, "you didn't see that coming?"

I didn't turn to catch Pisces's reaction but chose to maintain my attention on Zak who was already getting up.

"Using wit to outsmart opponents bigger than you," he chuckled, "someone's catching up."

He came at me again, swinging his arm but I was more than ready this time. I could clearly see his arm; all of its motion, how his biceps and triceps contracted and expanded; how his shoulder rotated, letting the energy flow all the way to his fist which I caught with my hand then countered with my right, getting the General neatly in his core, followed by a faint release of green energy.

Zak doubled back, managing to keep his feet planted on the ground as I did the same. He had a twisted grin on his face, getting amused by my actions and charged yet again.

There was something going on with my sight. I could detect Zak's moves just as fast as he could execute them, blocking all of his hooks and jabs, and countering with moves that would come out considerably more powerful with every hit. At that point, I had dropped Zak more times than he had.

"Desmond," Pisces called again and I had a feeling she was trying to make me stop but I was only getting started. Something felt different; almost as if a switch had been flipped inside me.

Ignoring Pisces, I brought my fists close to my face and I could feel a glowing sensation warming up my chin. "Come on. We don't have all day," I taunted Zak, who, unlike Pisces, was more than excited to keep the charade going. He even fished out his axes from his back.

"Alright, kid," he grinned at me, a wild glint shimmering in his eyes. "I've been taking it easy on you."

I responded with a smile and I could no longer feel the weariness, only the anger mashed with cosmic energy coursing through my system.

Zak charged, swinging one of the axes which I perfectly dodged by ducking to the ground, performing a flip and picking up Despyon's shield. I initiated the next attack this time, bashing the shield into Zak who deflected it with his blades and countered with another swing, smacking me hard on the side with the flat surface of the blade.

I groaned, losing balance and had to support myself with the shield. Zak did not give me a break this time. He brought down his axes at me but I was quick enough to block with the shield. We were held in a tight position, trying to overpower the other as my knee dug into the ground while I poured all of my strength into the shield.

"Guys, stop!" Pisces raised her voice.

"Just. . .a little. . .longer. . ." I said through gritted teeth.

"He'll. . .be. . .down in a. . .second. . ." Zak responded and I was glad to realize how much he was actually struggling but my moment of joy dwindled after I felt the direction of force shift. Zak's blades pushed down against Despyon's shield, getting closer to my shoulders.

I willed my senses, forcing all of my strength, particularly the overwhelming power flowing into my body from my right arm. The force shifted again, this time to my favor. My knee gradually lost contact with the ground as I pushed back against Zak's blades, forcing him back until I had reestablished an upward stance. I did not stop. The power was too much. Both of my arms were glowing incredibly, dousing Despyon's shield in a magnificent aura of green energy.

"Des—" Pisces was already rushing towards us but a violent explosion had rented the air.

What had followed had been more bizarre than the explosion after a blinding beam of bright green light had shot into my eyes and I went on to experience a wild whiplash effect as if my mind had been stretched out and released like a rubber band. Insane visuals appeared subsequently, flashing in front of me, similar to what I had seen earlier when Pisces's body had lit up the entire woods.

I did not understand what I saw—at least not at the time. Everything was so bright my eyes hurt. I winced, catching glimpses of strange life forms drifting in and out of misty green clouds with thunder booming and lightning crackling in the background, the outline of what appeared to be an island below all the chaos. I winced harder, finally making out an image. I heard the sound of hooves and could see the legs of a horse and a part of its lower body. The rest was covered in the clouds. The horse appeared to be glowing in a greenish highlight.

I had the urge to want to find out what this creature was. I tried moving closer but my body was held in place and I could only watch. Something materialized from the clouds in front of the horse whose upper body I still couldn't see. It was a hand. The hand was holding something. Something that looked like a. . .

More flashes of lightning formed, making it harder to make out what was in the hand. Thunder followed and the entire image was disrupted, followed by a new image. Everything turned from green to red. The lightning and thunder had stopped and in its place, a grotesque figure had materialized. It was as tall as the creature before it, towering over the island. It was silhouetted in a wave of thick dark red clouds, allowing me to make out something that appeared to have curved horns extending into the heavens.

The figure walked towards me, shaking the ground. I knew I had to get out of there. But how? I couldn't see Pisces or Zak anywhere. The figure appeared to be stooping, coming down at me to get a better look. Its form was still undiscernible until it had gotten close enough, allowing me to gaze at its fiery red eyes and its mouth. I caught a strong whiff of something burning. The smell of intense heat against my face.

A voice followed, echoing throughout wherever I was, booming with the loudness of thunder. "Crawl back into the hole you from whence you came mortal, or burn in my eternal flames!"

Thick waves of raging fire washed over the island, engulfing it before pouring in from every side like flash floods. I cried, frantically fighting against what was holding me but it was too late. I could feel the flames burn right through my clothes and eat at my skin, instantly melting my flesh.

I screamed, wriggling and twisting as an invisible force held me in place while I continued to become a human barbeque. I had to get out of there. The pain was unbearable. I turned my head in desperation, looking for a way out, which was when I saw her.

Her radiant form drifted through the flames, with not a single ember catching any part of her gown as she came to my side.

"Wake up," she whispered into my ear and I experienced another whiplash effect, shutting my eyes.

By the time I dared to open them, I realized no terrifying flames were enveloping me and I was standing next to Pisces who had her hand on my shoulder. Zak was standing a couple of feet back, apparently feeling something on his chest while staring at me with a mildly shocked expression.

My breathing, which had been heightened, slowed down as Pisces maintained her hand on my shoulder. I looked past her concerned eyes, scanning the woods where the trees appeared to be falling in and out of place, the ground beneath me uneven, like vertigo.

"The fire. . ." I managed to say, "where's the-the fire. . .?"

"What're you on about, lad?" Zak asked.

"It was everywhere!" I got hysterical, feeling myself all over. "It was—"

"Hey," Pisces increased her grip on my shoulder, making me look into her eyes. "You're okay. You had a vision."

"W-What?" I gasped.

Pisces smiled and I felt myself relax, letting go of all the dread that had gripped me. "You successfully harnessed Sage's power."

"Kid, your arm," Zak pointed and I followed his gaze down to my blazing right arm which had taken a different kind of glow this time. Streaks of green lightning circled my arm, flowing from my shoulder, along Sage's insignia and into the tips of my fingers where it came out in bright sparks. That was not all. Despyon's shield which lay on the ground a foot away from me, also had green lightning sparking off it.

"This is. . .new. . ." I muttered, raising my arm and scrutinizing it, watching the thin neon green sparks wriggle and dance on my skin.

Letting go of my shoulder, Pisces said with a dawning expression, "You've channeled Sage's power."