It had started with birds flying into the air and out of the trees across the midday sun, then the entire forest had gone silent after that disturbing sound.

"We need to get out of here," Pisces solemnly said, her eyes carefully scanning the woods.

I clutched tightly at Despyon's shield, trying in vain to fight off the overwhelming feeling of dread. If I had learned anything from the very little time I had ever spent hiking in the woods, was that my dad had told me whenever the jungle went silent, it meant there was probably a predator nearby.

As much as I wanted to disprove that statement, Sage's insignia hinted otherwise with its spontaneous glitching.

I followed Pisces, doing my best to match her pace as we cut through twigs and leaves. We had walked for a while and that terrifying sound was no longer audible. Perhaps whatever kind of predator that was had decided we weren't worth the trouble. But the woods were still silent.

We decided to take a break. I glanced around, looking through the spaces between tree trunks and was more than glad to find nothing was coming after us.

"You couldn't see her, could you?" Pisces asked shortly, getting my attention.

I assumed she was referring to the unsettling golden Zodiac we had ran into.

"It's known as the vision," she added. "I can manipulate reality—Sage's power was his eyes."

"What," I offered, "he could see like really far or something?"

"Among other things. . .yes," Pisces sighed, directing her attention elsewhere after she caught me observing her face. "We'll lay low here for a while."

I would have gone on to try and dwell into that but my anxiety had my mind reeling back to the last Zodiac we had encountered and her words still registered clearly in my head.

"She didn't mean anything that she said, right?" I asked, and Pisces could already tell who I was talking about and she took her time to respond.

"Her words have been known to have an endearing effect, similar to my telepathy but stronger," she started, her face set in what I had come to understand was her primary stance when engaging in solemn conversation—looking ahead into the distance at nothing in particular.

"Zygos is rather unique," she went on, "being the only one of us to be crafted by the gods and not possess any abilities that can deliver physical damage. She has never participated in any acts of violence, though it would entirely depend on your definition of the word. We believed she existed to act as a balance among us, as an intermediary during conflict and delivering justice with her words."

"But. . .I'm guessing that hasn't recently been the case?" I asked, trying to read Pisces's expression.

"Just like everybody else," Pisces shook her head slightly, "she too ended up becoming Aries's minion, bending to his will and now Aries uses her power of judgement to tip the scales to his favor."

Pisces turned to face me. "Do not take to heart what she's told you. You're the bearer of the mark of the wisest of us. Use that to read through the lines and see the real truth."

I wanted to ask how I would exactly go about that, noting the emphasis on the word 'see', but then Sage's insignia started glitching again, after which Pisces went on high alert, wheeling around and scanning the vicinity.

The silence had intensified, the only sound coming from my feet against dry fallen leaves. Together, we scrutinized the woods with our eyes, trying to make out anything out of the ordinary. Sage's insignia was now on a steady glow, signaling that danger was a lot closer now.

And then it happened. It had jumped out of the woods, nearly knocking me off the ground while Pisces had turned around, following it and had almost unleashed her powers only to instantly cut them off.

I turned in time to catch a brown furry animal scamper past before disappearing into the woods and I was more than relieved as my heart had almost made its way to my mouth.

"Pheew. . ." I exhaled, trying to control my heartbeat, "just a deer. . .just a little deer."

Pisces narrowed her eyes and I followed her gaze down to the symbol on my arm. "Why is it still—"

It happened so fast, by the time I realized what it was, I was sprawling on the ground, several feet away from my initial position.

Fighting through a mountain of bushes, I finally got back on my feet, taking some time to regain my breath after what felt like being hit by a moving bus, except you still survive.

The strange sound came again, very distinct and clearer this time. It was not a roar, but more like bellowing. Yes. Bellowing, like a. . .

The ground beneath me began to shake and I followed the source until my eyes settled on something that instantly made my legs go limp below my knees. It was huge, towering at a height nearly half that of the trees, its muscles rippling under the heavy brass-plated armor that matched its dark brown skin. It fixed its two eyes on me. Eyes that glowed a faint orange, just like the large symbol above them that rested on its wide head—a head that resembled that of a bull, with four sets of horns projecting out from it.

The first pair curved out over its head while the other pair was much shorter and curved inwards, aligning with a thick set of jaws.

The rest of its body had a human-like appearance as the creature parted its jaws, bellowing again by raising its massive arms which took up most of the armor, with gauntlets covering both of its hands which glinted at the knuckles where pointed jewelry projected out, looking almost like the typical brass knuckles.

Its chest and torso were bare, revealing the toned layers of muscle and skin that looked to be as tough as, well, you get the idea. There was no way we were going to beat this thing and come out alive.

The creature charged at me, its legs as thick as tree trunks, stomping the ground with a deranged look on its face where a strange symbol—a large bronze-colored ring almost the size of a frisbee that had its upper half branching out at the edges to form two thin rods that connected with its first pair of horns—was glowing, giving off a brilliant orange hue.

My eyes went wide as I remained with my feet planted to the ground, paralyzed with fear. The creature brought forth one of its arms, ready to smash my head in but Pisces intervened, using her power to pull back the creature's arm and forcing it to stumble backwards.

"Get out of here!" she called, preparing an attack on the thing.

"No one is going anywhere!" the creature boomed, regaining balance. "Aries should have sent me from the very start. A puny mortal and you. . ." it turned towards Pisces, flexing its arms.

The minotaur-looking beast came down on Pisces, but she was ready, blocking the large steely arms by creating a virtual shield with her hands while firmly planting her feet to the ground as the creature pounded on vehemently.

"Don't you all get it?" I heard Pisces say as I sneaked up on the creature from behind, "he's deceiving you!"

"The only deceiver here is you," the creature boomed, "little traitor!"

One more pound with the sides of its arms and the creature had broken through Pisces's shield, causing her to stumble backwards. The creature then advanced, ready to deal more damage. I threw Despyon's shield at it and a clanking sound emanated as the shield hit the creature across the back. I might as well have thrown a pillow at it.

"Sage's successor, huh?" the creature grunted, turning to face me. I swallowed, planning my next move just as Sage's insignia glowed steadily. "You're in the wrong business, mortal!"

I shielded my face with my hands as the creature brought forth a fist but contact was never established. The creature bellowed, stumbling backwards and I looked up to see Pisces dragging it back with her telekinesis.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Pisces said sharply, heaving the creature with all her might until she had managed to slightly raise it off the ground so that its body was floating towards her. She then executed a powered hook, blasting the creature with mystical blue energy, sending it flailing and crashing into the trees.

"I thought I told you to leave," Pisces demanded, coming to my side.

"You want me to understand Sage's power," I levelled, picking up Despyon's shield while the insignia on my arm maintained its glow. "How else am I supposed to do that if I don't help you. This is what you needed me for, right? To stop them?"

Pisces gave me a long set look with her sapphire glowing eyes and I guess she must have deduced the determined expression on my face and hopefully not seen into my mind where I was currently terrified as hell.

"Use the shield to engage in long range attacks," she finally said, looking towards the trees, "don't get too close."

"What is that thing?" I asked, following her gaze into a segment with fallen trees. "Is it a—"

"Tauros," Pisces said.

"A What?" I didn't catch her.

"Tauros," she reiterated, "the Zodiac of strength."

"You don't say," I exhaled in an attempt to fight off my increasing anxiety and derailing sanity.

"He is one of Aries's most loyal subjects," Pisces added before the ground beneath us shook, followed by distinct bellowing.

Pisces and I got into position, watching ahead as trees shook and swayed wildly until the horned Zodiac, Tauros, reemerged, holding an entire tree trunk in one arm. He eyed us with his bronze glowing eyes that were almost the color of fire. He brought the trunk in front of him and went on to snap it in half with his thigh so that he now had two in each arm.

My heart rate matched the Zodiac's steps as he charged at us, stomping quickly against the ground before leaping into the air while heaving back the two trunks. Pisces pushed me aside and received the full hit as one of the trunks got her, bashing her sideways. She rolled to the ground but came back up with a flip.

I closed in on Tauros, clutching at the shield tightly with my right arm, trying to force Sage's power into the weapon. Tauros saw me coming and swung a trunk at me like a baseball bat. I brought up the shield in time but even then I could still feel the effects of the blow as hardwood struck against metal, sending vibrations up my arms.

Tauros whacked at me repeatedly with the trunks and I could only hold on for so long, with every whack and strike landing on the shield and sending me several steps back. Then it happened. Tauros swung one trunk in a golf-like fashion, digging up dirt along the ground as the trunk found its way against Despyon's shield. My hands jerked from the intense vibrations and I was immediately flying across the clearing before crashing into a patch of undergrowth.

My whole body shook like a tuning fork and everything around me looked hazy and out of place. One more hit like that and I was sure I would lose my mind, especially after my vision had started playing tricks on me. I thought I had seen something or someone? Standing some distance further into the woods, with its outline coming in and out of view thanks to my ruined eyesight or was it, what had Pisces called it? "the vision"? I didn't think so. The ground shook again and I lazily turned to find a hulking figure coming down on me. My vision cleared and I was staring at two clenched fists the size of basket balls descending on me.

I tried to move but my hands slipped under the slippery undergrowth. The fists that were coming down on me then started to get farther away. It was a very strange feeling as my body literally sank into the ground before being brought back to the surface.

I gasped, feeling myself. I wasn't covered in dirt and there was no horned Zodiac towering over me. I realized what had happened after Pisces zoomed past me, her gown dancing and flapping with ethereal radiance. She charged at Tauros who was coming out of the undergrowth and did not look at all pleased with his fellow Zodiac's wittiness.

Tauros bellowed, retrieving his trunks and went on to hurl one at Pisces who was exceptionally quick on her feet, ducking in time and using her telekinesis to thwart the trunk out of her way. Tauros threw the other trunk and Pisces managed to turn it around by magically splitting the large structure into smaller pieces of wood with pointed ends. She flung all of them back at Tauros.

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Using his arms, Tauros deflected the incoming projectiles. Most of them bounced off of his metallic wrist and shoulder plates while others chipped or scratched across his broad chest and torso.

I got back up, instantly locating Despyon's shield and was already on my way to rejoin the battle. Pisces had doubled on the attack, making the most of it and not giving Tauros a chance to fight back as she descended on him with a flurry of superpowered energy blasts, sending the Zodiac further into the trees.

I tried to launch an attack but Pisces signaled she had it all handled, especially when Tauros started going down on one knee, taking in blast after blast. Pisces then stopped but only for a second so that she could switch to a different tactic. She raised her arms, using her power to hoist Tauros into the air, making sure his body got hit by branches the higher he got. Once she had levitated Tauros to a considerable height, she thrust out one hand, extending out her fingers so her palm faced forwards. This resulted in Tauros getting pushed back by an invisible force, his body crashing through trees. Pisces followed while on the ground and I tried to keep up.

She thrust herself in the air and met with Taurus, halting his movement only so she could blast him and send him hurtling back to the ground. I had to support myself to a tree as tremors ran below me.

Pisces was far from done. She was already descending on Tauros, performing a dive with one of her arms extended towards the ground. She yelled, her fist coming down on Tauros but it never connected. Tauros had caught her arm. Pisces yelped, losing her levitation as she landed on one knee.

Gasping, I adjusted Despyon's shield which had started shimmering. Sage's power was slowly pouring into it. I charged, skipping and leaping over the undergrowth. I was just a few feet away when I decided to hurl the shield. It came off spectacularly from my hand, cutting through the air while spinning wildly until it came into contact with Tauros's head.

Tauros stumbled back but only by a step. A step that had given Pisces just enough time to try and attack with her free let hand but she cried out, instantly cancelling her move.

"Not so fast," Tauros muttered and even then I could still feel the bass of his voice reverberating in my own chest.

"That's it?" Tauros scoffed, turning to look at me as he tightened his grip around Pisces's arm who cried out even more. "all that for what. . .a tiny scratch?" he felt the side of his face with his other hand where I noticed a thin orange line that contrasted with his bronze-like skin.

"You really are Sage's successor, aren't you?" he went on, "always relying on toys instead of using your own form to execute power."

Pisces's cries were so unnerving that my fear had started turning into rage, slowly building up inside me—or was it Sage's power? I couldn't tell.

I could not take it anymore. I decided to ignore Pisces's advice and dashed towards Tauros, ready to engage in close range combat. Tauros twisted Pisces's arm then flung her towards me and we both went to the ground, sprawling.

The ground shook under Tauros's weight as he approached us. Pisces felt her left arm, her face contorting as she hissed. "You need to stop this, Tauros! Have you forgotten what he did to you?"

I looked from Pisces to Tauros and caught him pass a hand over his broken horn. For a brief moment, he appeared to be lost in thought, as if recalling some kind of memory before a grin formed on his hardened face, pulling him back to the present. He glared down at Pisces. "I was put in my rightful place and I have forever known none to be as mighty as him. Which is exactly what I shall do to you!"

Taurus grabbed both of us by the neck, hoisting us off of the ground. I felt his fingers lock around me like a vice, quickly cutting off my breathing and I could tell Pisces was experiencing the same kind of torture.

Eyeing either of us, Taurus grinned, his insignia glowing a bright bronze over his eyes and into the inner curvature of his horns. "Tell Sage, Aries sends his warmest regards."

My vision was getting really terrible. My head grew hot and my body went limp. This was it. Pisces's body movements were slowing down just as fast as mine. My eyes were shutting down. My heart. . .

There was an abrupt whooshing sound, similar to an object flying through the air, followed by a loud clank and a silent slash. My eyes reopened and my lungs were instantly replenished with fresh air. I gasped. Tauros's grip had apparently loosened around my neck.

"I have a better request," a new voice filled the vicinity, "why don't you take your regards and shove them elsewhere!"

Following the source of the sound, I could hardly believe my eyes. Standing at the edge of the clearing, his figure just as tall and heavily armored as I remembered it, was none other than the General himself. He even had his ax blades—no, just one. Wait, where was the other—oh, that's right.

Tauros released Pisces and me. We dropped to the ground, recuperating from his death hold. A piece of metal was resting next to my leg. It must have broken off of Tauros's shoulder plate as I spotted something sticking out of his back, just below his left shoulder.

"More mortals to kill," Tauros grunted, directing his attention to the tall blonde-haired man whose face came in and out of view from the shadows cast by the trees. "Good!" Tauros clenched his back muscles and the ax blade that had been lodged in there fell to the ground in front of Pisces's feet.

"You're a big one, eh?" the General spoke with the casualness of someone conversing with an old friend.

The two charged at each other. I watched in awe as the General fearlessly came at the Zodiac, ducking an incoming blow by sliding on his knees then twirling on the spot, bringing back his other ax blade to Tauros's thigh. The Zodiac stumbled forwards, giving the General more room to engage by knocking into his side with the flat surface of the blade, followed by a swing as he attempted to land the weapon into the same spot where his first blade had made contact, leaving behind a considerably large gash.

Tauros perceived this, turning in time to cut off the General's swing, countering with a massive hook that the General was luckily able to avoid but still getting some contact as he was thrown to the ground. He quickly sprang back up on his feet.

"Looks like you two could use a hand," he shortly said, helping both Pisces and me get up. I watched him use the tip of his right foot to flip his other ax from the ground and catch it in his hand.

He brandished the two axes in either hand. A closer look revealed that apart from the double curved blades on each ax, their opposite endings had blades too but smaller, angular and pointed, like arrowheads.

"Finally," Tauros boomed, feeling his back and withdrawing his arm, "some real blood." I could see some orangish liquid on the tip of his fingers.

"Interesting," he regarded the General and his axes. "No mortal weapon has ever broken through my skin before."

My mind reeled back to that moment when I had used a shield to create a cut on Tauros's skin and I heard Pisces's voice in my head. "Sage's power enchanted the shield."

I looked at her, making a silent "oh" with my mouth. She turned to the General and her expression was as intrigued as that of Tauros.

"Oh, you'll find that they do more than breaking skin," the General returned before shifting his attention to either of us while still maintaining his gaze on the horned Zodiac. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. You'll flank him, tire him out from the sides."

"Use his own strength against him," Pisces offered.

"Exactly."

"How did you find us?" I asked, still at awe by this unprecedented visit.

"How about we first focus on trying to stay alive," the General snapped.

"Right, sure," I shook and nodded all at once, picking up Despyon's shield and turning to face Tauros.

Pisces and I engaged, spreading outwards on either side before charging together at Tauros from opposite directions. I threw the shield. Tauros deflected it as if he was swatting away a fly but it had found its way back to me, thanks to Pisces, who had forced Tauros towards her, sending him off balance and I threw the shield again, this time getting Tauros neatly across the jaw.

Tauros stumbled back some more and that was when the General zeroed in, lashing out with his blades and pushing Tauros further back as he blocked with his arm plates. The plan seemed to be working. We would all attack then let Tauros engage, evading his blows and slowly tiring him out and Pisces was especially brilliant with her ability to bring Tauros to the ground by relaying his own energy shifts back at him.

At one point, Pisces had managed to pin Tauros to the ground, using her power to press his body against the earth, rendering him immobile. But she was hurt, perhaps a bit more than the rest of us. Tauros must have dealt a good deal of damage to her hand and the effects had started showing. Pisces was losing her hold on Tauros. Her power was weakening.

I was rushing towards Tauros with the shield, ready to try and crush his huge head which the General had lifted off the ground using his blades as he kneed him from the back.

Tauros let out a deafening bellow, breaking free from Pisces's magic. He twisted his head away and I hit nothing but dirt with the shield. He grabbed the General by the arms as he got up, flipping him over and that was yet another body which crashed into my own.

We hit the ground hard. Tauros grunted, enraged and annoyed. He grabbed at the General's leg, swinging him in the air like a rag doll before smashing him into the ground. Pisces tried to pull him back but Tauros found one of the General's blades and threw it at her. It struck Pisces who barely had time to deflect it. She fell to the ground. I rushed towards her.

The General became Tauros's main attraction. He was struck twice by the Zodiac's massive arms before being flung across the clearing. Tauros advanced towards him, finding the other ax.

"Let's see how much blood we can extract from you," he chuckled, swinging the weapon in his hand.

"He's gonna kill him!" I gasped, getting up, ready to try and attack again but Pisces held me back. "Wait," she said, extending her arms forward.

She winced and I could tell her abilities were not forthcoming with how the energy in her hands kept on flickering with a faint glow.

Tauros was towering over the sprawling General. He brandished the ax and brought it sharply down on him. The General locked his arms in front of him and I gasped, wondering what kind of help that would be.

I looked back at Pisces and I knew she had read my mind. She did not try to stop me as I got up and rushed over to pluck out Despyon's shield which had lodged itself into the ground. I raced towards Tauros. My arm was glowing incredibly with Sage's insignia and his power flowed into the shield. I knew what I had to do.

I yelled out, leaping high into the air and brought down Despyon's shield on Tauros's back, cutting across the gash that had been inflicted by the General so that it formed an X scar, with two orange lines dripping with liquid of the same color.

Tauros howled this time, his bellow coming out hollow and slightly high-pitched. Even with that level of damage, he still held down the General, forcing the ax closer and closer to his chest as I got a visual of the situation. The only thing that separated the blade from the General's core was his right arm, which strangely seemed unreal, or maybe it was because of everything that was happening but I could have sworn it looked a lot like metal.

I yelled out again, bashing the edge of the shield into Tauros's wound. The Zodiac refused to yield, confirming Pisces's description of him being the embodiment of strength, endurance and stamina. He did not even seem to mind that I was on his back, which led me to try a different strategy.

With my right arm, I tucked the shield under the Zodiac's head, then used the left one to grab at its broken horn. I pulled, mustering as much strength as I could, in an effort to divert the force he was exerting on the General.

Despyon's shield had even started glowing, gradually siphoning power from Sage's insignia. I pulled with all my might, tipping back my own head as I held on to Tauros's horns and neck. I wanted to call out to Pisces for help but something stopped me and I opted for a different approach.

"If you can hear me. . .please. . .we need your help! I know you can do it!"

Still struggling with Tauros's stiff neck, I waited, desperately hoping for a response but no voice found its way into my mind.

Tauros's body shifted beneath me. I could feel his muscles rearranging. My grip was weakening. He had knocked aside the General's arms and the blade was about to sink into his chest and then. . .

Tauros groaned. The weight started to shift towards my side. His muscles were losing control. I pulled even more with profound power. He finally lost his hold on the General who did not waste any time by quickly knocking the ax out of Tauros's hands and into his own.

"Get off!" the General yelled and I realized he was referring to me after I saw what he was about to do.

I leaped off of the Zodiac's back, doing so in a backflip that took me completely by surprise. I didn't know I could do that. The General made his move. He flipped his ax so the arrowhead was pointing forwards this time and then thrust it deep into Tauros's core, so deep that the tip of the arrowhead ruptured and protruded out of his back.

Tauros growled, dangerously swinging his arms in an attempt to get the General but he was held back by an invisible force. The same force that had been used against him and stopped him from cutting open the General's chest with his blade.

I turned to see Pisces up on her feet, struggling to maintain a steady hold on Tauros, summoning the little power she still had in her. I watched her merely flick her hand towards Tauros's direction and the General's other ax came flying into his hands. She forced Tauros further down and I quickly caught on what she was trying to do.

With a nod of understanding from the General, I advanced towards Tauros who fought like a wild animal against Pisces's magic. I went for his legs, jabbing him with Despyon's shield and he went on his knees but he still tried to get up, which was then the General's cue.

I moved out of the way and watched the General dash towards the struggling Zodiac, his ax held out high. He jumped, spinning in the air as if he was about to execute a roundhouse but finished with a wide swing, chopping off Tauros's head clean from the rest of his body.

Pisces gasped, finally relinquishing her hold. I held her as she gently fell back after momentarily losing her balance.

Tauros's decapitated body staggered aimlessly, spouting orange liquid from its stumped neck which I guessed was its blood, forming a tiny fountain. The General struck the body with his foot and it fell to the ground, shaking up everything once again.

"Like I said," the General spoke, flicking the ax expertly in his hand, "you can shove it elsewhere."

He plucked out his other ax from the body's torso and more of that orange stuff squirted out. The body then disintegrated, turning into some kind of ethereal shimmering white powder or as I would soon come to learn—star dust. The powder dissolved and vanished into thin air, leaving nothing behind, not even Tauros's blood.

"See," I turned to Pisces who had regained her composure, "I told you you could do it."

The General walked up towards us, his appearance calm and reserved, which was a little off-setting, especially after what I'd just seen him do. I hadn't noticed how bloodied his face actually was now that he was up close. He had a huge dark red lump over his right eye, but other than that, he seemed perfectly fine. Me, on the other hand. . .

Ignoring the fact that I had probably broken a considerable amount of bones in my body, something had caught my attention. It glinted in the afternoon sun, resting not far from where Tauros's body had been. It was one of his horns, the bigger one. I looked around for his head.

"The only part of him that does not die," Pisces's voice answered my questioning look. "Tauros's horns served as a testament to his endurance."

"Where's the other one then?" I asked.

"Tauros had his fare share of trouble before all of this started," Pisces went on, "he tried to prove his strength by challenging Aries. Aries decided to humiliate him in return by cutting off a piece of his horn."

"I have no idea whatever it is that you are talking about," the General cut in monotonously, scrutinizing his ax blades. "But that doesn't quite demonstrate a sense of endurance now, does it?"

"Aries was the only one who could do that," Pisces added solemnly. "and in doing so, he ultimately corrupted the integrity of the horns, one of them at least. Which is why you won't find the rest." I gazed at the curved horn in my hands.

"They've turned to star dust, just like the rest of him and returned to their place. To where they were first created. To the stars," Pisces finished.

"That was touching and all," the General spoke again, "but do the two of you mind explaining what kind of shit you have been up to?"

I exchanged glances with Pisces before the two of us turned to face the General with dawning expressions—or at least that's what Pisces's face displayed. I'm not sure what the General saw on mine, but one thing was certain, he would end up getting a lot more than he had bargained for, just like I had and I was only halfway through my own plate. Hmm. . . I wonder what dessert will be; maybe some strawberry ice cream or chocolate—oh, who am I kidding? I am gonna get a huge steaming bowl of sh. . .