Terra and Caedis's blades crash into one another. The men are tired, and drenched with the other's blood, but neither yields.

  Cirelian is the next to move, swinging his shield down on Terra's as if it were a boulder. There's easily enough force behind the attack to shatter one's vertebrae, but Terra twists, lets the blow skim his shoulder, and drives a fist charged with golden light into Cirelian's jaw. Terra wishes to follow through with the attack as he watches the brute stumble back, but a wall of light props Cirelian up, keeping him on his feet.

  Caedis covers for his brother, cleaving through the open air where Terra's wrist had been just a moment ago.

  The hair on Terra's arms begins to stand on end. The hair on his neck quickly follows. An unknown, powerful magic is gathering at the edge of his senses, and it feels just like the calm before a storm. Terra has seen many spells in his time. Spells that could kill from a distance, spells that could drain entire cities of its inhabitants' lifeforce overnight, and even spells cataclysmic enough to alter a topological map, but nothing like this. This is something new to him. This spell was made with one purpose. Reaching its target by any means necessary and dealing severe single target damage. It is meant for one person, and Terra knows exactly who that is.

  The shot has been let loose, and Terra can feel rampant mana burning, and lashing its way through the air towards them all.

  Terra can see Evelyn hovering at the far end of the tower with her staff raised and a determined look on her face. The mana surrounding her now is so strong that the air distorts, and shimmers a dark shade of gold. It's a protection spell made out of layers upon layers of shields that stretch out before her, archaic runes littering each one.

  Cirelian places himself in the trajectory of the oncoming spell and brings his shield down. Planting it into the ground, he braces for impact. It begins to glow a bright golden hue, as if he intends to stop the spell all on his own. Is such a thing even possible? Terra doesn't know, but he does know that Cirelian is the shield of the Radiant Axis for a reason.

  Evelyn is selfish, and would be fully focused on protecting herself. Cirelian was selfless and would be fully focused on protecting his sister.

  That leaves Terra with one obstacle. His eyes flicker over to Caedis who meets his gaze momentarily. The moment is broken as Terra rushes Cirelian. Terra leaps over Caedis’s sword, but Caedis is ready for this. Caedis swings upward and leaves a stinging line along Terra’s thigh as chilled blood fills the air. Terra thrusts his hand through the fresh blood, and presses his hand into Caedis’s eyes as he pushes the man back.

  With Eloria’s Vow, Terra cleaves through Cirelian’s arm, seperating it from his body. It falls to the ground with a thud, and the output of magic to the shield lowers substantially.

  Caedis is upon Terra once more, but time slows to a crawl as Terra sees that spell burning through the air in pursuit of its target. A comet with a will of its own, heading straight for Evelyn. The Starmartyr meets the first of the barriers and it breaks through with ease, and then it hits the second, and then all those that follow. Each one is only able to slow it by a hair. One final barrier stands before Evelyn and the Starmartyr though.

  Cirelian, Saint of Shields.

  The arrow is less of a physical thing and more a force of nature as it strikes Cirelian’s shield. A blinding flash of light can be seen before it eats away at the very atoms themselves that hold his shield together. It digs into his breastplate, and through the man himself before a spray of gore can be seen behind him. The entry wound is only about an inch wide, little more than a mark. The exit wound can't be further from that though. Cirelian doesn’t even have time to scream before falling forward. The heat of the spell cauterized his insides instantly as it tore his back out. Where there had once been a solid man, is now nothing more than an empty husk.

  Starmartyr is not done though. It continues to travel, and then the spell detonates at Evelyn’s feet. The world goes white.

  The first sensation Terra has is falling, and when his vision clears, he can see that the platform they had been standing on was damaged. At least half of it is gone now. What remains of Evelyn is also falling, and Cirelian’s body is nothing more than a rag of meat. Terra catches a glimpse of Caedis through the freefall. His robes are gone, the skin on his right arm is cooked a dark shade of black. But his eyes are alive, and they are locked on the falling, burning remains of his siblings.

  The four of them plummet together, past the carnage, past the rain of molten stone, and land on the uneven remains of the tower. Cirelian’s corpse hits first, a sound like a sack of wet cement. Evelyn’s remains follow, more ash than flesh now. Caedis hits the ground hard, but manages to stick the landing at the very least, and then Terra lands.

  For a long moment, no one moves.

  Then Caedis shuffles to what’s left of Cirelian, drops to his knees, and presses two fingers to his brother's neck. It’s a child’s gesture, hopeful and desperate, but it’s also a verdict. He looks up at Terra, eyes wild.

  "They’re already dead," Terra says, and looks up to the now purple, burning skyline.

  Caedis rises, blood running from his mouth. He points his sword at Terra, but his hand is shaking. "Have you any idea who I am?" he says, and it’s half shout, half plea. "I am the leader of the Radiant Axis! The Lightbringer’s chosen! I am Eloria’s strongest soldier!"

  "I know exactly who you are, Caedis Cromwell. You’re not the strongest, and you never were. You were the only one who was almost as strong as me though," Terra teases, and lifts Eloria’s Vow. The blade’s light is dimmed now that it’s covered in blood.

  Caedis glares at Terra and the ground begins to tremble. "It is the Lightbringer’s will that I kill you, heretic. Justice will prevail!" Caedis raises his hand, and the sky answers with a rain of meteors, hundreds of them, tearing from the clouds and falling down toward the earth.

  Terra watches as the meteors begin to fall upon the battlefield. They hit adventurers and sinners alike. Terra turns back just in time to catch Caedis’s blade with his bare hand. Caedis tries to lean into it, he tries to force his way forward, but Terra’s grip on the blade tightens and he swings forward, severing one of Caedis’s fingers instead, causing the man to let go of his blade.

  Divine Aspect, Dominion of the Duelist wants a fair duel!

  Terra reads this message briefly before blinking it away.

  "A sneak attack? You are a stain on Elor’s memory!" Terra shouts, and throws Caedis’s blade down at his feet. "You think you’re enacting her will, but you’re nothing more than a puppet to your own ego!"

  Caedis doesn’t reach for his blade. Instead, he freezes. "Who is Elor?..."

  Terra’s answer is a blade inside of Caedis’s mouth. The heat of it chars the man’s tongue. Caedis chokes, and kicks his blade up. As he tries to swing at Terra, Eloria’s vow slices cleanly through Caedis’s cheek, causing the skin to dangle limply down his face.

  Caedis staggers away, eyes wide, and lets out a roar. Explosions of light go off around him, leveling the platform once more.

  When this magic grows to a halt, Caedis stands a top the tower, looking frantically from side to side. There’s too much smoke and rubble surrounding him to see anything. The explosions weren’t big enough to create this much of a mess though, why isn't it clearing up? Caedis grits his teeth together as he sees a flash of light in the smoke.

  "You are unworthy of saying her name."

  Something hits Caedis in the back hard enough to shatter ribs. He spins, and swings at open air.

  "Every breath I take is for Elor."

  Another blow hits him. Caedis’s nose breaks, but he grounds himself, readying his blade once more as he searches for his opponent.

  "You don’t get it," Caedis says, his voice bubbling through his now enlarged mouth. "How could you? It was never about Eloria, or the Lightbringer, or anything like that. I want power, what’s so wrong about that? I am strong, so I should strive to be stronger!"

  "Strong? Your power came from those around you. Without them, you’ve grown weak. And now that you’re alone? My Aspect makes you all the easier to kill. It may not seem like it, but I am not good in a melee. Whereas you grow weaker in one on one combat, it is where I excel. You are weak."

  "I don’t care about your monologuing!" Caedis shouts, and points his blade at the source of Terra’s voice. A beam of light leaves it, only to hit nothing.

  "Every step I take is for her benefit," Terra says, and the smoke behind Caedis takes solid form as Terra emerges from it. Caedis turns just in time to be headbutted by his opponent. The blow is strong enough to split the skin on his skull.

  Caedis staggers back and slips in his own blood before dropping to one knee. He looks up through blurry eyes.

  "Everything I do, I do for Elor, so I can repay my debt to her," Terra says, and brings his sword down.

  Caedis catches it with his barehand, although he is not as proficient as Terra is at catching blades. It burns through his fingers one by one until finally the last one gives way.

  "You will die because she deems it so."

  Stolen story; please report.

  Disband the Radiant Axis

  The blade collides with Caedis’s neck. It is not a clean cut but a grinding, ugly tear. The head comes free, and for a moment, it just hangs there, suspended by a thin thread of flesh. Then it drops, and rolls to a stop at Terra’s feet. Terra lets out a sigh and looks up to the sky above as his eyes glow a faint golden once more.

  Disband the Radiant Axis!

  "You mean the girl? She is not a threat Elor, You have my word. Elen is a good person. She reminds me of-"

  Not that one!

  Not that one? Terra’s eyes shoot down to Caedis’s head. The eyes are still moving. They stare at Terra for a moment before they drift shut.

  But before they do, something changes. A pulse, a black wave of pressure washes over the tower. Terra looks up to see the last of the sinners on the horizon fall to the adventurers. A ripple passes through the sky, and for a second, everything is still.

  Then Terra hears laughter. He looks down, and Caedis is smiling, the grin is impossibly wide due to his sliced cheek. "Aurion promised me a new body," the head says, and the voice is doubled, and then tripled, as if part of a choir. "One that isn't reliant on those around me. One that can reach new heights! I will be like the gods themselves, all thanks to Aurion, the Shining One!"

  "Who is Aurion? Actually, don’t answer that." Terra doesn’t hesitate a moment longer. He brings his foot down on the talking head, heel first, aiming to destroy it in its entirety. But before he can, a sharp pain fills him as a holy blade protrudes from his chest.

  The headless body of Caedis is standing behind him, sword in hand. It pulls the blade out of Terra’s back, and reaches down, scooping up its own head.

  Terra drops to his knees, cold blood pouring from the open wound, and from his mouth now. He looks up with foggy eyes and watches as a pair of wings sprout from Caedis’s back. Not the white wings of divinity he had grown accustomed to seeing, but wings the color of dried blood. Upon closer inspection, each feather is actually a blade. A golden halo appears above the neck, but it’s wrong, jagged, broken, stained and it spins slowly in the open air.

  [Divine Aspect, Dominion of the Overlord has been activated!]

  Terra reads the message as he watches Caedis’s body begins to change. His armor splits, the muscle underneath swell, and what skin can be seen turns gray and hard.

  Caedis brings his sword down on Terra, but Terra catches it once more. Terra locks eyes with the head and forces himself to stand despite the pain.

  "It would appear that you don’t die so easily either," Caedis hisses, and pulls his blade back forcefully, slicing Terra’s hand open as he does. "Trust me when I say I will have your head! What’s one more fight?"

  "I don’t care for your monologuing," Terra says, his voice a gurgle of blood. "I’ll mince you up next time." Terra squares his shoulders, and prepares to fight once more with Eloria’s Vow at his side.

  The two clash, but it is not simply the sound of steel on steel. Each time their blades meet, a shockwave ripples out, turning the ground underneath them into little more than gravel.

  *

  On the edge of the battlefield there is a lone adventurer. His name is Varron. The boy is hiding behind one of the few arenas that didn’t get thrown into the ravine, knees drawn to his chest, trying his best not to vomit. He never wanted to be a part of this. He just wanted a Divine Aspect, a way to stop being a pariah. It isn't fair, being born a necromancer. It's not like he had a choice in the matter. But now, watching the absolute carnage brought on by the Saints, he wonders if any of it was ever worth it.

  But he saw something earlier, a lone necromancer. She was quick to act, and actually managed to get one of the Saints under her control. The spell that followed shortly after was a power unlike any Varron had ever bared witness to.

  Varron watches as a charred corpse falls off of the side of the tower. He doesn’t care who it is, if he could get a Saint of his own then everything will be different. It’s quite the run, and there are flaming boulders falling out of the sky, but…

  Varron’s body moves regardless. This is his only chance at strength. A once in a lifetime opportunity. If he dies here, then it doesn't matter to him! Varron narrowly avoids meteors as he runs. He covers his head, shielding himself from potential shrapnel. One such piece slices his cheek open and he lets out a pained cry as his adrenaline carries him forward.

  He reaches the base of the tower, and makes his way to the body. It’s a smaller body, and it's missing both of its legs and an arm. Parts of it are more ash than they are flesh. This is still the body of a Saint though, is it not? Kneeling, Varron holds a pair of shaky hands over the charred remains. It’s still warm, but that’s probably from the burns. More than that though, Varron can feel that whatever soul was within this body has only just left.

  He presses his hands into the Saints chest and wills their soul to return. For a moment, nothing happens.

  Then there’s a pulse of light, followed by a cough. She sprays ash and black fluid from her lungs as she tries to sit up. Varron takes her hand in his own, and wipes her face with the other. The skin beneath is smooth, and perfect, untouched by whatever spell had left her in this sorry state.

  Her irises are strange. Two golden rings of light lock on to Varron.

  "What happened?..." she asks, her voice as light as a falling snow.

  "It’s okay! You died, but I brought you back. I am your new master. My name is Varron, and I’m a necromancer. I’ll help you, and you’ll help me. I know this is scary, but there’s a lot of bodies around here. We’ll be able to find you some replacement parts, and if we can’t then we can just kill someone and take their parts! It’s okay, I’ll get you patched up and make you whole again!"

  "Master, you’re hurt," she says, and takes his hand in hers now. "I can heal you, if you would allow me to."

  "You’re the healer? Can you heal yourself first? Your legs are…are…" Varron’s words trail off, losing himself in his thoughts as he looks down at the woman’s lower half. Where there had been no legs before, there is now a pair of ivory legs. Something about their construction is wrong though, the femur bones are far too long. The tarsals and metatarsals aren’t human either. Varron has never seen such a thing before, to what beast did such bones belong to? He runs his finger across the bone, and it pricks him. Quickly, Varron pulls his finger back and sticks it in his mouth to try and lessen the pain.

  A hand presses itself against his cheek and draws his attention away from the monstrous legs.

  "Master, may I heal you?"

  "Y-You’re still missing an arm, you know? But your beauty is otherwordly…" Varron’s face burns a bright red as his heartrate quickens.

  Evelyn giggles at Varron, and presses her forehead against his. Every feature about her is perfectly symmetrical. Despite what injuries she had sustained, Varron is unable to get over the fact that her face was left untouched.

  Her lips curl up to reveal a single dimple. A beautiful smile for a beautiful girl. A perfect imperfection. In a way, this fault only causes Varron’s heart to beat harder in his chest.

  "We can worry about that later, can’t we? Please, let me tend to your wounds first."

  Varron nods, unable to find his words. She holds his hand, inspects the tiny cut on his finger, and whispers, "Aurion’s Grace." The cut vanishes, replaced by a white scar. Varron can’t believe this. Of course, he can believe that his hand has been healed, but he can’t believe that a girl's hand is actually this soft.

  Evelyn places her hand on Varron’s cheek now, and utters that same spell. Varron freezes as she inches closer to him. Her lips are mere inches from his now, and her breath smells pleasant despite just being brought back from death.

  "Master, can I keep you safe? We’re a team now, or maybe a better word would be a couple? Let me keep you safe, I don’t want anyone else hurting you."

  "Y-Yes! Please, keep me safe," Varron stutters, and closes his eyes as he leans in close.

  "Thank you master, I’ll be sure to keep you safe. Invert."

  Varron’s body turns inside out. There is no other way to describe it. One moment, he’s kneeling next to Evelyn, and the next, he’s a sack of flesh. Blood sprays out in every direction as his skin peels back from his body. He tries to scream, but all that comes out is a wet slurping noise. His lungs are on the outside, his outsides on the outside, everything is red, and everything hurts.

  Evelyn floats above her new master trying her best not to get any blood on herself.

  "Aurion’s Embrace," Evelyn says, and a translucent sack appears around what’s left of Varron, catching every drop of his blood. His insides press against the membrane, nerves exposed, and twitching. Varron whimpers softly, and curls up in a ball in an attempt to not touch anything.

  She takes a moment to admire her work, and then she hears a whistling through the air. An arrow plunges itself into the membrane, narrowly missing Varron’s body. Evelyn’s eyes grow wide and she begins to chant a spell under her breath.

  "Of course that damned sister of mine, of course it just had to be her, trying to fuck everything up for me, trying to hurt my new toy, trying to kill me again…"

  Evenlyn hastily places a series of barriers on the membrane’s walls. Even then, she isn’t satisfied and continues to cast more.

  Finally happy with herself, Evelyn holds her remaining hand out and her staff returns to her. "Aurion’s Grace," she commands, but ends up frowning at the nub on her side. Her arm refuses to regenerate, and she sighs before looking into the distance. She can’t see Elen anywhere, but that doesn’t mean that Elen can’t see her...

  Evelyn thrusts her staff through the membrane, and into Varron’s chest, right where his mana-core dangles from his chest.

  "I’ll be using your mana-core to amplify my own magic, master. Necromancy isn’t my forté you see."

  Varron’s mana-core is pried free from his body, and then Evelyn yanks her staff out, the membrane sliding shut after it. The end of the staff glows an inky black, and she holds it high into the sky as the shadows fill every corpse they can find. Adventurer and sinner alike. Scraps of flesh are resurrected too, and Evelyn smiles as she watches hundreds of figures begin to rise.

  "Kill anything that draws breath," Evelyn commands, and then looks up towards the purple sky.

  Several flashes of holy magic can be seen from up above, and this causes Evelyn to smile. A smile so horrible that her cheeks threaten to tear before she stops.

  "That worthless brother of mine is still fighting that traitor? At least he was able to complete the ritual on his own," Evelyn mutters, and tries to float, but she doesn’t. She envisions herself levitating off the ground and then she feels a hot, bubbling pain coming from behind her. It hurts more than the pain of dying and she reaches for her back just in time for a pair of white wings to sprout forth. The tips are covered in a bit of blood and she lets out a scream. Evelyn tries to turn to see them, but then something else appears. A golden halo rests just atop her head. It accentuates her features, but she doesn’t care for that now. Her wings flap once, and then twice, and she takes off of the ground, flying into the sky.

  "Oh and before I forget… Master, I’ll come back for you! Don’t you dare try and escape. This really is for your own safety, you know. You’re the one that brought me back, so I can’t have you dying on me even if you are a sinner. If you can be good for me and stay put then who knows what might happen? I might even revert you and take you out for a walk!"