Alexander fell from the skies, drawing my attention away from the condensing of the Lunar Star’s power, the Shadow gripping his throat between its jaws as they tumbled to the ground, colliding with great force upon the lands of Pangaea. I could only spare one eye to watch my mightiest child as I finished my work, counting the seconds until I was finished.

  And what I saw roused old blood within me.

  Alexander bit and snarled, all but immobilized as the Shadow rose victorious from their clash, standing atop his head and howling its victory. Its fur was all but scorched off, bleeding from a dozen places, injured, but not stopped. The gods who stood against it were scattered to the winds, those who remained frozen at the sight of Alexander beneath it; Alexander, the mighty, indomitable dragon, the most powerful of the Four, incapacitated. Elvira and Keilan hung on with desperate might, seething as they tried to mend the rift between realms as fast as they could, desperate to get back into the fight.

  The Tree bent what few branches were uninjured, Reika’s will guiding them to reach down and swat at the Shadow – who sneered at it, undaunted.

  All others were frozen. All but a few.

  “This is it,” the Shadow breathed. “This is what I wanted. To pit my will against yours, my faith, and come out victorious. You have no idea what I had to do to get this far. What blasphemy I had to endure and commit for the greater good. But now it’s over. The Great One is preoccupied. You lay beneath me, your siblings tied up,” at this Alexander growled, snarling and shifting his head to gnash his teeth as the Shadow.

  “I will annihilate you, how dare you twist –“ his growling retort, spit out between gasps, was cut off as the Shadow pressed its paw against his throat, cutting off his snarl. Between his time in the Shadow’s hidden realm and its own attacks, he was all but totally wiped. Yet still he raged, tried to deny the Shadow’s will, his spirit indomitable, even if his body refused to follow his will. Fifty seconds.

  “…I admire you, brother. Your will is admirable, and you are closest to myself than anyone else. Do not make me kill you,” the Shadow pleaded. It was not a threat; it was genuinely begging Alexander to not force its hand.

  “I…deny you. I am nothing like…you. Abusing…Father’s power…” Alexander snarled between breaths. The Shadow sighed and shook its head – but whatever it was about to say was cut off by Kei, who landed before it in a flash of fire. Illusions layered themselves upon the Shadow like wet blankets, a dozen illusory Kei’s leaping at it at once. The Shadow sneered and barked, the illusions too weak to hold together and vanishing in an instant. She skidded back as the bark pushed her away, feet digging furrows in the ground, the staff she held shattering.

  “My useless underlings,” the Shadow snapped, looking skyward. Above, the goddess of catastrophe continued to do battle with Gilles, who had managed to ensnare her and himself in an orb of darkness, allowing Kei to aid Alexander. “The universe will be much better off without them. I –“ The Shadow froze, eyeing the skies, looking directly at where my palace hovered near to the Realm Sun. Looking directly at me. Thirty seconds.

  “You’re stalling.” It said, realization dawning, dodging casually as Kei leapt at it, swinging her staff. I rose to my feet, sensing its sudden desperation, its challenge. The Shadow roared, whirling upon Kei, who had returned to strike another blow, with malicious intent, maw open wide and ready to devour her whole –

  Randus was there and Kei warped away, rescued from certain doom to be deposited in the halls of my palace a few moments later, just outside my mediation chambers. She raged and spluttered for a moment, glaring about.

  “Grandpa!” she shouted, rising to her feet. Anger wrought itself across her face, and while I was proud of her for her actions, her anger was misplaced. “What are you doing?! Help us!” I ignored her cry of rage, turning my attention to the others who still moved.

  Dei knelt before a young-looking, green-haired girl, laying in the rubble of a collapsed house. The two shared a look, and he narrowed his eyes. The question he asked was silent. Can you get me there? The answer she gave was silent as well, lifting one finger to her lips, a small, weak smile on her face.

  Fu Hao and Stilicho shot skyward, toward the heavens and where they figured the Shadow was heading. And Randus waited for his chance.

  “The Great One…” the Shadow said, eyes widening. “They’re accelerating the creation. No. No! They were supposed to keep that power for Themselves! You don’t know the price of that! You sniveling, whining curs, standing in the way of my duty!” Alexander snapped at its heels as it leapt into the sky, darting between the net of karmic strings Keilan tried to ensnare it with, weaving between the few inaccurate bursts of power from the few remaining gods – Argent, the god of Metal, appeared before it with a frown, his metallic skin scorched and smoking and fists raised.

  For five seconds the two did battle. Argent put up a valiant front, staying true to his Dao. He was immovable. Determined. A steel wall. It didn’t matter, in the face of what he confronted – but it gave others time to get into position.

  Argent was struck down, sent hurtling through space, bleeding but not dead. The Shadow hurtled forward, mouth agape, heading for the Realm Sun – my eyes widened. With the chaos the Realms were currently in, the permanent destruction of the Sun would be…catastrophic. Twenty-five seconds.

  The Shadow rushed forward, breaking through the realms and bursting into the faux void between the primordial chaos and the realms. It was nearly as fast as me, at that speed, even without teleporting. Why wasn’t it teleporting? You have space locked down around the Sun and your Palace. No teleporting, in or out. I stood, stone cracking as I moved.

  The wind blew, and it carried Dei with it. Aeriel had her hand held up from where she lay in the physical realm, whispering to the wind with a small smile on her face. The wind hears everything. She whispered. The wind blows everywhere. My fists clenched, and the Shadow skidded to a halt as a mere mortal appeared before it, transforming from wind into a body of flesh and blood.

  “So that is what travelling as the wind is like,” Dei mused, cracking his neck. His long hair whipped in the wind, his trim, grey beard flecked with bits of blood from his battles. Then his gaze flicked to the Shadow, whose eyes rolled every which way as it searched for something, anything, that could explain why a mortal, not even an immortal, had appeared in its path. True, he was a relatively powerful mortal, but he was a mortal all the same. One nearing the end of his lifespan, no less. “…you’re one ugly looking dog. Do you have rabies? If you do, I’m putting you down.” Dei drawled, raising an eyebrow.

  “What?” the Shadow hissed.

  “You can speak? Good. Come on then, we haven’t got all day.” Dei said shrugging and readying his spear, his soul stretching out to cover the entire length of the weapon. I took a single step to my doorway, my limbs feeling as if they were pushing through molasses as my full faculties returned.

  “Grandpa!” Kei shrieked from the other side of the doors, all puffed up and angry with righteous rage. Twenty seconds. Without someone or something standing in the way, the Shadow would reach the Sun in less than a fraction of that time.

  Fu Hao and Stilicho, my loyal angels, hurled themselves in the direction of Dei and the Shadow, urged forward by Randus, flying with all the speed they could muster. Down below, Alexander raised his head, fire pooling in his mouth as he prepared the last of his energy.

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  The Shadow charged, mouth agape, seeking to swallow Dei whole - he just laughed, the primordial chaos shuddering as he called down his immortality ascension trial. The Shadow's eyes widened as its momentum faltered for a microsecond; a microsecond of hesitation, mere inches from Dei, that gave Randus all the time he needed to pull his greatest trick yet. The bridge of immortality descended from the heavens, wrapping itself around Dei and the Shadow both, stretching miles across the sky and widening the gap between the two. The Shadow whirled and snarled, paws scrabbling on the clear glass planks that made up the bridge, slamming its body into the golden railings - only for the pressure of the will of the Four Realms to keep it in place, compelling it to stay on the structure.

  And the entire thing sunk into the ephemeral land of dreams.

  A bubbling laugh echoed in my chest as I fueled a bit of power into the trial, lightning crackling in the skies above as it tried to create a trial worthy of stalling the Shadow itself. Leave it to a mortal to weaponize an Immortal Ascension trial, and leave it to Randus to figure out a loophole. The proximity of the Shadow to Dei had allowed him to trick the Will of the Realms into accepting both as the applicants. Even worse, his was no simple trial. It was the trial of the Soul.

  “Huh, so this is what my trial looks like,” Dei said, planting his feet on the bridge and rolling his shoulders, breathing heavy as the Shadow's miasma wracked his body. His skin cracked from the poison, threatening to kill his mortal body as lines of blackness spread through his veins, but still he stood, a smile on his face and death in his eyes.

  “You DARE?!” The Shadow snarled, feet scrabbling as it got used to the sudden change – running, but unable to move. It was dreamlike state, but wouldn’t last long. Dei snorted. Fifteen seconds.

  “I thought that was obvious that I do, indeed, dare.” He drawled, the colors of the world distorting as the Shadow threw itself against the glass bridge, attempting to break free. It rattled, but held, Randus appearing in the skies above, the butler god of dreams waggling one finger at the Shadow in a disapproving manner.

  “Ah, ah,” he tutted. “There’s only one way to go, dear Shadow. The Mistress granted me access to the Trial of Souls, as the soul is where dreams are held. You are in my Realm now, until it is completed. And I promise you, here, I reign supreme. Here, even a mortal can fight a god.”

  Dei readied his spear and let out a breath as the Shadow snarled, glaring at Randus hatefully before turning its gaze back to him; one man standing between it and the Sun. “Hold for thirteen seconds,” Randus whispered in his ears, opening small portals in the skies for Fu Hao and Stilicho to slip through. The will of the realms and, by extension, I, allowed such a bending of the rules – in this case, it was the only way to make the Trial more challenging for both Dei and the Shadow.

  Randus himself struggled to keep everything with the realm of dreams; as it was not a true realm, he had to dedicate much to prevent physical objects from being ejected out. Even still, as I watched, I saw his power wrapping itself around the minds and bodies of those present in his land, bolstering his allies' minds, and strengthening their bodies.

  “Take as long as you need.” Dei promised, whisps of green wind swirling about him. I narrowed my eyes slightly - that was Aeriel's wind. A blessing. She had granted him a divine blessing, gifting him powers of the wind. “I will stand and keep the bridge, even if I must stand alone.” Fu Hao and Stilicho touched the bridge beside him, the latter readying his own spear, while the former placed one hand upon his back comfortingly, telling him of their presence, all while cracking the knuckles of her other hand with her thumb.

  “We stand beside you, and keep the bridge.” Stilicho said seriously, silver light gleaming off of him.

  “Let’s ring this dog’s bell,” Fu Hao challenged, readying her stance.

  “You damnable insects.” The Shadow snarled, paws pattering against the glass bridge, the trial slowing its steps, testing its resolve with every passing moment. No mere trial could keep it contained, but for this glorious moment it was stalled. Dei roared, energy swirling about him as the trial tested him as well; his feet pushed forward, rushing to meet the enemy. Fu Hao and Stilicho charged beside him, silent in their fury. They met three quarters of the way up the bridge, and the Shadow batted Dei back easily, knocking him all the way back to the beginning while coughing up blood. Eight seconds.

  Fu Hao landed an uppercut along the Shadow’s jaw, and a single bat of its paw sent her flying out of the trial and the land of dreams – this was not her trial, and as such she was tossed away with ease. Stilicho did not fare any better, his spear scoring a line along one of the Shadow’s paws before he, too, was sent hurtling away with a mercifully non-fatal swipe. Seven seconds.

  “What is it you mortals like to say?” The Shadow hissed, wiping its jaw, stalling for a brief moment as glass chains leapt from the bridge, binding it in place for one crucial moment. Dei stood and wiped his mouth, life force flickering from mere proximity to the shadow. Yet defiance filled his heart, Aeriel's wind swirling around his spear as he readied it.

  I reached the doors to my meditation chamber, and opened my eyes.

  “You don’t know how HIGH THE HEAVENS ARE!” It roared, shattering its chains and lunging forward. Six.

  “Today, for you, this is how high the heavens are,” Dei whispered, hurling himself forward, his soul's own pure, clear energy mixing with Aeriel's wind and the power of Randus' dreams, his desire igniting a response in the universe as he hurled his weapon - the spear itself shattered, Aeriel's wind roaring, the clean energy of his soul piercing through the Shadow's miasma to allow the wind to strike it. It didn't do much, in the end. But for one, glorious moment, it was stalled; a small line carved into the Shadow's hide, a few drops of black blood leaking out. Five.

  The doors to my chamber swung open, revealing an irate Kei. Her expression froze upon seeing me, immediately paling and sweat pouring down her face from the unrestrained might of my presence.

  “Grandpa – your – you…” she stammered out. I spared her a glance, then looked away, fighting the urge to rush forward.

  The Shadow reached the end of the bridge as Dei righted himself from the throw. The trial shattered beneath its might, breaking free of the fragile land of dreams, and it bypassed Dei entirely, rushing to the Sun. Fu Hao and Stilicho were ready for it, hurling bolts of gold and silver energy at the beast. Alexander roared and unleashed his fires, a stream of golden flames reaching from the center of the physical all the way out to nearly the Realm Sun as a beam of pure light. The Shadow screeched and narrowly dodged, a line of heat burned along its side from mere proximity to the beam. Three.

  Dei leapt upon its back in its distraction, driving his soul into the space between its remaining spidery legs, the broken aura of an immortal surging from him – and Randus was there, warping space, teleporting Dei out of the way just in time to avoid the stabbing limbs. He reappeared beside Fu Hao and Stilicho, laughing madly, swaying on his feet as his body began to fail from the poison and, technically, his failed trial. He had not crossed the bridge, but that did not matter to him.

  Two.

  “Not one step further than this.” He promised, drawing a line in the Void with his soul. The Shadow surged forward, eyes rolling wildly, black miasma pouring off of it to obscure its movements as it charged to the Sun. All three poured all their might into resisting, Randus gifting them sight to see the Shadow and interject themselves in its way – while simultaneously layering dreams over the Shadow, making distance seem longer than it actually was. It snarled, desperation in its tone as Dei hurled himself forward suicidally once more, Fu Hao and Stilicho flanking, to prevent its dodge.

  ONE.

  My power collapsed in upon itself, no longer so obscenely oppressive in its weight but still carrying with it a large portion of the Lunar Star’s power. The Shadow stalled its steps. Fu Hao and Stilicho looked skyward as I stepped out of my palace, away from Kei – and appeared right behind them and Dei, one hand resting upon the man’s back. In a blink the poison ceased to spread, though the damage had been done.

  “Go now. For I am here.” I said to him, eyes locking upon the Shadow. It stared at me, eight red eyes wide, as Fu Hao and Stilicho each grabbed Dei beneath the arm, fleeing my heavy presence. Only once did my angels look back, gazing upon my visage in fear and awe alike; then they were warped away by Randus. I, for one, glanced at my feet at the line Dei had drawn, visible only because his intent marked the spot. The Shadow’s front paws had skidded to a stop just before that line.

  “No. No, what have you done,” the Shadow hissed. This close, I could see the power that made it, it, clinging to its soul like a leech, empowering and feeding off of it in the same instance. It squirmed uncomfortably in my presence, reaching out and pulling away in equal measure.

  The smile that stretched across my face was not one of amusement, nor of kindness, as I grabbed the hilt of the weapon that hung at my side, the one I had forged just for it. Fate hissed at the action as I raised the glowing blue orb that was the core of the Lunar Star’s power – condensed and contained, ready to be released at a moment of my choosing. All it took was a bit of my blood – quite a bit, actually, a solid inch of flesh – condensed into a more solid shape. Only my own body could contain that much power.

  “What I, as a doting, loving parent, had to. You went too far, and threaten the collapse of all creation.” I said simply, fixing my gaze upon the Shadow and drawing my long, straight sword. Darkness coated the edges, echoes of the Void humming within the glowing blue metal. A shield covered the hilt, while a brush hung from the pommel – more than just mere decorations, their purposes yet unrevealed. “Now come, and let your Father teach you some manners.”