The enormous monster arose from the surf. It was the size of a military tank and covered in plates like a crustacean – a fusion of giant crab, octopus, and nautilus. The creature whipped out at Rose with one of its tentacles. She was flung sideways and tumbled on the sand several times – but suffered no damage. Instead, it was dealt to Echo.

And the pain was barely noticeable. He flew at the monster as it stabbed towards him with a massive pincer. Raising his blade, he parried the monster directly before pushing it back. It fell back into the surf – suddenly upended and seemingly panicked at the sheer display of raw strength. A glowing yellow aura surrounded it, and a same-colored beam shot out at Echo.

He held up his palm as the ray approached, “Rift Counter.” A silver pulse fragmented space in front of him, and crimson sparks ran around the edges of shattered reality. The beam glanced off and redirected itself into the ground as Echo’s spell ended and the cracks in the fabric of creation mended themselves.

He flew forward, stabbing forward directly into the creature’s head and ripping through it in a single thrust. “Splintering Strike.” Barbs of ironwood exploded from his blade and traced their path through the creature’s flesh, bursting the monster with thorns from the inside as a gnarled, spiked tree grew out of where he had struck.

CONSUME!

Withdrawing his blade, Echo reached into the corpse and cracked it down until he found the heart of the creature – easily the size of his torso. He squeezed it with his hands and gobbled it down. The warm, sweet-smelling blood was intoxicating, and the flavor was the most delicious, savory crab he had ever imagined.

EVOLVE!

He flew back towards the beach as his body underwent forced evolution once more. The pain was negligible – his Fortitude high enough to shake off all but the excruciating experiences. Rose walked over, casting her Siphon Strength spell as the corpse dissolved to ash.

“Good job,” she said.

Echo shot a glance at her. “I’m done playing around.” He gestured to the environment around them. “They were all monsters.”

I’m freeing them.

That was the only reason Echo was fine with these actions. He was still being a hero – killing monsters and destroying evildoers. And as Isaac had told him, these things – the ones that were former people – were trapped in their own bodies. It was a mercy to free them.

“Regardless,” Rose stated as she pulled out her identification. “You are rapidly growing ruthless. Perhaps…” She glanced off in the distance and a frown crossed her face.

“Perhaps what?” Echo asked as he used a water spell to clean himself and his gear.

“Perhaps you took on some of Fumi’s warrior nature.”

Echo frowned, “Maybe.” He floated up into the sky and Rose joined him. “Does Regios have a Guild Hall?”

Rose nodded, “They should.”

The two took off flying South.

---

Tiberius was pleased. Everything was going perfectly according to plan.

Now to make sure that everything is perfect when they arrive.

The mountain base he had chosen as his first lair was buried deep in the Vaysha Rift. In the Sky-Shatter Mountains. The second highest peak. He wanted to look out upon all of Heimfold. And this was right below the highest point.

He took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air and sprouted a pair of wings, flying up to the highest summit in the world. Alighting on top, he saw Caeli’s shrine. Her most sacred altar. Several Vaysani and Ayshor – bird and beast folk, respectively – were performing some religious ablution.

He ignored them and walked past them towards a rocky outcropping. Reaching in between a crevice, he retrieved a small leather pouch before flying back to his lair. When he sealed the entrance, he opened it.

The ancient device rolled out onto the desk in front of him. A relic from the Universe Era. Before The Void Invasion. Before the New gods. Made by the Prime gods themselves. A silvery disc that turned milky white when held at an angle.

He set it down and began to trace the runes representing the Primes on it. Painstakingly using the powdered Divine Metal he had spent so long acquiring in bygone decades.

After several laborious hours, he finished, and sat back as sweat drenched him.

My final act of artifice.

He took the Mimic Cube, placed it onto the disc, and channeled the full might of his Quintessence into the object. The brown, miasmic power flooded over the two objects and combined with the purple sludge that exuded from the artifact. Pressing harder he joined the two – Mimic Cube and Disc of the Prime Domains.

When he released the flow of Quintessence, a new artifact sat unmoving on the desk. An improved Mimic Cube, fused with the powers of the Prime elemental domains – Light, Shadow, Air, Earth, Fire, Water.

And now…

He placed the cube on his chest, and cackled madly as the prismatic ooze covered him.

You’ll consume me.

---

The two arrived at Regios. It looked very similar to Alliaria in building design, but there were no bustling market squares, no fishermen on a wharf, and no elaborate merchant district. No. This was a spartan town. Dedicated to The Alliance Academy, the home of the Essence Isles city-states joint military.

And it was in an uproar.

Echo floated down into the town and felt the instinct to devour hit him – but he held it in check, gritting his teeth behind pursed lips as the two walked towards the Guild Hall entrance.

A Ssari soldier walked up – a humanoid woman with features of a tiger shark – and held up a hand for them to stop. “Outlanders. What business do you have here?”

Echo held up his adventurer identification. “We’re going home.”

The Ssari nodded and was about to turn away, but she turned back and looked hard at Echo. Her rough skin paled and she backed away, pulling out a short sword. “You’re a monster!”

Echo sighed, “No shit. Did you even read the identification?”

“Help! Someone, help!”

A large squad of Ssari ran out of a nearby building, all dressed in armor and holding near-uniform weaponry of short swords with javelins on their backs, and shields in hand. They took up a perimeter around the duo.

“What’s this about?” Rose asked.

The Ssari that had been speaking to them backed away and joined the circle as a grizzled, older Ssari walked forward. He was seemingly humanoid mixed with great white. That was Echo’s best guess.

“There have been reports of monsters in the area.”

“We killed them,” Echo stated bluntly.

“We also lost a training fleet recently. We are being extra cautious.”

Echo looked at Rose, eyes narrowing. “What?”

Rose looked calm, but under that there was a layer of guilt. “Thank you for your caution,” she replied. “Echo, we should get back to the Guild Hall. We can talk there.”

Echo grunted and walked forward, past the leader and towards the Guild Hall. The soldiers let him pass, eyeing the two warily as they opened the double doors. Other adventurers gave the two wary glances as they made their way towards the stairs in the back.

Word must have spread about what we did in Krekyo. That, and the wings.

They had cleared hundreds of quests off the board in a single sweep. It made sense to Echo that he had garnered a fearsome reputation. The flowing, angelic wings behind him were definitely adding to the overall effect. Glancing at the quest board, he was pleased to see that it was relatively empty.

The line to the apartments was long, and Echo cleared his throat. Other adventurers looked at him and quickly stood aside as he walked forward, exuding pure power with every step.

The apartment was luxurious and well-kept. Narya was doing her job. The pixie flew around the corner. “Hmph! About time. It’s been weeks!”

Echo shook his head, “We’ll talk later. Go to your house, please.”

“It’s my apartment too-”

“Now.” Echo was firm and direct. Narya nodded tersely and flew off to her small house on the countertop. He walked over to the partition and closed it, turning to Rose who had taken a seat on the couch. He stood in front of her. “You tricked me, didn’t you?”

Rose tapped her fingers on the armrest of the couch, “Yes.”

Echo sat opposite her, leaning forward as he steepled his fingers and rested his head on his hands. “Why?”

“Because you need to be stronger, be-”

Echo stood up with such force and speed that the coffee table in front of him cracked from the sheer pressure exerted, and the chair was flung backwards into the wall. “You’re the reason I killed her!” He grabbed the table with one hand and flipped it out of the way as it went crashing into the hallway. Walking in front of her he got right in her face. “You bitch. You’re why she’s dead.”

A tear ran down Rose’s face, and her façade cracked. “I know…” she broke down and her shoulders heaved as she buried her face in her hands.

“Don’t try to manipulate me!” Echo gripped her by the wrist – holding her in place like a vice. “You’re a cold, lying, heartless piece of shit!”

Rose nodded, not noticing her wrist slowly being crushed. “I deserve this.”

Echo grunted and let her go, walking to the door to the apartment and slamming it behind him. The crowd in the hallway immediately split as he stomped forwards. He went outside – exiting through the Guild Hall entrance leading to Saint’s Hold and flew into the sky.

---

Narya waited for several minutes until she was sure the stomping and violence was done. She poked her head out of her small house and flitted over to the shattered partition. Rose was sobbing on the couch, tears streaming down her face. The coffee table was in the hallway, a chair was in shattered pieces, and the pocket slimes were cowering in the corner.

She flitted over to Rose and landed on her shoulder. “What happened?”

Rose looked over at Narya. “I’m…I…Fumi’s dead.”

Narya’s eyes went wide.

“And it’s my fault!” Rose continued pouring out her sorrow, and Narya simply stood on her shoulder, powerless to help.

---

Echo screamed in frustration and anger at Rose’s betrayal.

She tricked me into killing innocents.

His silver Quintessence seeped out of him as his emotions raged unchecked. Raw anger poured through him, boiling over every ounce of his being, and filling him up from toes to top. The crimson sparks crackled all around him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a group of humans – flying with angelic wings – up towards him. They were wearing Lux’s colors and wearing her holy symbol. They were shouting a variety of phrases that seemed like prayers and spells. He simply held up his hand in their direction, “Rift Counter.” Space fractured and their spells harmlessly refracted off the shattered space.

And this fucking goddess and her followers can go straight to Hell.

He drew his sword and activated Achronerate, blitzing down to the group of humans possessed by angels, and carved them to bits. A bloody rain fell onto Saint’s Hold as he butchered dozens of fanatics who sought his death.

Finishing his bloody trail, he turned back as the bodies began to descend, golden flashes of light ascending upwards as the possessing angels left their hosts. He pointed his sword at the center of the masses, “Transmute Substance.” The bodies and blood were all pulled back into a singular point in space. He flew over and grabbed the mass of flesh, consuming it in several bites.

No regrets. Not when they’re trying to kill me.

He felt his stomach burn and roil as he evolved once more, writhing in the air as his Quintessence poured out in a miasmic silver cloud that ripped the sky asunder.

---

“Isaac!”

The Guildmaster was sitting at the bar and chatting with some adventurers when Liam – New god and highest-ranking individual in the Imperial Military – ran up to him. “What is it?” Isaac asked, setting his drink down.

“Your monster. He’s above the city. Hurry.”

Isaac sighed and walked outside, following the New god of warfare and strategy. And when he looked into the sky, he dropped his tankard.

What in The Void did you do?