Rose looked on as Echo descended from the atmosphere, stabbing wildly down into the New god until it stopped moving. He reached his hand into its body and withdrew something that glimmered, chomping it as his mouth and face distorted into that of a monstrous wolfish creature.

Then, he exploded in a fury of snow and ice. Rose tried to track him as he fell – an enormous ball of rime and frost that descended from the heavens – but she couldn’t see him within the mass. She quickly used a Siphon Strength spell on the falling deity’s corpse.

It was weak.

Rose had read up on the New gods that stayed in the Vaysha Rift. They were the least powerful of the bunch – only having access to one or two Domains at most. That, and their very small, tribal-centric worship ensured they never gained the same level of power as other New gods had gained. She looked on as the sphere containing Echo continued to fall.

“Tsk. Annoying.” She raised her staff and used a simple Gravity miracle to arrest the sphere’s fall. It came to a slow, gentle stop, and she waved it towards her as the tempest faded. Echo’s skin was coated in ice, and he appeared unconscious. Rose tapped his forehead with her staff, “Hello, you in there?”

He blinked his eyes open. A groan is all that escaped his mouth as he coughed weakly several times.

“You just ate your first god. How do you feel?”

Echo caught his breath and his spectral wings manifested once more – sending flickers of frost from them. “I feel pretty good, all things considered.” He perked up almost immediately.

“…Did it bother you?”

Echo looked up, “Did what bother me?”

“Eating a god?”

“He attacked us first,” Echo’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t have problems with eating people who attack me. Not anymore.”

Rose smirked, “Good.”

---

Azurianth stood in front of Lux, head bowed, and received the most brutal tongue lashing he had ever felt.

Her goddess was fuming, almost foaming at the mouth as divine radiance spilled from her countenance. “What in your mind would make you think that was a good idea?”

“Please, my lady. Let me ex-”

“Do tell!” Lux’s face was full of rage.

“Won’t the Quintessence that your worshippers provide you be all the more potent if they exalt you in a single, divinely inspired moment?”

Lux pursed her lips for a moment before grinning, “Why, that was a brilliant idea!” She stood up and walked down to Azurianth who knelt in front of her. “That is why you’re my archangel. Well done.” She put her hand on Azurianth’s head. “Thank you. I am sorry for treating you so harshly without hearing you out first.”

Off to the side, in another chamber, there was a loud crashing noise. Lux wheeled and stomped towards that hall, screaming in rage at whoever was making the noise.

Azurianth took the opportunity to leave. He quickly flew to the Administratum offices and buried herself in paperwork.

If you look busy, she won’t turn her wrath on you.

Lux was swinging wildly between extremes of emotions, growing more and more unstable. Everyone saw it, but none could question her or bring it up as she could sap them of their Quintessence, leaving them effectively paralyzed. They were her utter thralls. Azurianth gave a silent prayer up to anyone who would listen.

Please, stop her madness.

To his surprise, a voice responded in his mind. A masculine voice that exuded authority and confidence. The voice of a god speaking directly to her. His prayer answered by someone unknown.

Be patient. It will happen soon.

---

Echo looked at his Adventurer Identification and his eyes went wide at the stat improvements.

 

He glanced over at Rose who had pulled her own out.

“My spells will still be stronger,” Rose commented as she put the identification away. “You have so many Affinities now.”

Echo laughed, “Yeah.” He put the identification back around his neck. “I don’t know how strong Tiberius is, but I think we can take him.”

We have to. We need that cube.

Rose nodded, “Well, we should make our way to Nelya. It’s the safest place in the Vaysha Rift, and there’s a place called Nestor’s Rook. According to the guidebook I read, it’s a very famous tavern and inn.” She frowned slightly, “Plus, there’s no Guild Hall entrances in the Vaysha Rift. May as well rest well before we go to face Tiberius.”

The logic was sound, and Echo nodded as the two accelerated and flew further West, chasing the setting Sun and Inferno.

---

Tiberius writhed in pain, struggling to keep his body under control as it warped and spasmed. The Mimic Cube was much stronger than he ever thought possible, and he almost lost himself wholly despite his upgraded body.

At least it worked.

He muttered a mind Affinity spell as his brain shut off all pain receptors, allowing him to ignore the spasms. “This is what I put them all through?” He asked himself softly as he sat at his workbench once more. Looking at a small mirror he saw the changes and was quite pleased. His eyes were black, save for the iris. Those were deep brown and crackled with red mage-sparks.

His final challenge was approaching. Survival of the fittest. His greatest creation, Echo Asheron, against himself, Tiberius the Shaper.

If only I could record it for posterity.

Sadly, he had no bards he could call to the scene of an impending battle. No chroniclers who would tell the tale. No, it would just be creator versus created. If Tiberius won, he could consume Echo’s heart – and all the development that the Monster of the Guild had gone through would immediately become Tiberius’ own. He could take his own revenge.

This was his true master plan.

He had hoped to consume both Echo and Fumi after they had bred with each other repeatedly. After he had fed them all the monsters he could make and unleash, then he would eat both. But those plans had gone awry. Echo alone would have to do.

Tiberius could parallel divinity. Become just as strong as them. Eat them. Become the strongest being in creation.

I can reach the pinnacle.

And if he did die, Echo had just as much incentive to kill Lux as Tiberius did. It would be a win-win situation. A sense of finality washed over Tiberius as he prepared for his possible end. He had done everything he could to ensure he would be prepared.

Now to wait.

Tiberius left his lair, collapsing it behind him as he took The Mimic Cube and the Sunburst Lantern along for the journey. He cast several simple contingent detection spells that would lead a path directly to where their final fight would take place. A simple enough trail to follow that both Rose and Echo could easily spot.

He flew upwards, his monstrous wings unfurling and flapping powerfully as the leathery skin slowly frosted over. Higher and higher, to the top of the Sky-Shatter Mountains. The highest point of Heimfold, atop the tallest peak far above the clouds where the clear sky was above.

Here, at the top of the world, they would decide. Here, at the highest point of Heimfold, they would decide.

Who was the pinnacle of evolution?

---

Echo and Rose arrived at Nelya as night fell. Far below they saw an enormous cavern entrance, guarded by two enormous stone doors that stood slightly ajar. Rose explained that this was the agreed upon meeting place for the various Tribes, and the interior of the mountain was hollowed out with a variety of structures akin to houses. It was built upwards in concentric circles that eventually allowed for access to the mountain peak, and Caeli’s shrine, the first temple to her.

As they flew higher, they saw a brilliant, colorful streamers blowing in the wind with a variety of business names labeled across them. Several well-dressed Vaysani flew around the mountain, stopping off at a variety of levels and engaging in trade before flying off to some other location around the mountain citadel. An enormous banner stood out from the rest; green like the softest grass in the prairie, and black lettering spelled out Nestor’s Rook.

The two alighted in a landing area, and immediately Echo felt the Primal Consumption take hold. But it was quiet, almost a whisper rather than a shouted command that forced his compliance.

Devour…

He pushed it aside as he led the duo to a counter near a set of stairs coming up from below. The parrot-like Vaysani who stood there was immaculately dressed in some type of woven robe from a plant fiber Echo didn’t recognize.

“Ah, guests.” He dipped his head slightly, “Welcome to Nestor’s Rook. I am sorry, but we do not serve non-Vaysani-”

Echo held up his identification plate with the back facing the proprietor, showing his balance of dreks.

“Ah, well, you are rich. But we do not take dreks here.”

Echo sighed and opened his pocket dimension, reaching in and grabbing a chunk of wood the size of a car engine, and gently set it down before closing the portal. “Alter Substance,” he muttered as the cube turned to Ironwood. The Vaysani was flabbergasted and stood there, dumbly, until Echo cleared his throat. “This should be enough in trade. What would you say it’s worth, Rose?”

Rose smirked, “I’d say it’s a kingly gift.”

The parrot-man smiled and whistled as two servants came up and bowed to the duo, “These are your servants for the evening. Anything you desire, they can acquire.”

Echo gestured for the two to lead them to their rooms. They were led up to a very comfortable, spacious cavern that required ascending a few ladders to reach. A large window to the outside showed the gorgeous Dreamer Sea between the Vaysha Rift and the Essence Isles. The two servants returned with drinks and food, and The Undying indulged in their repast.

Night fell and Echo undressed, preparing for sleep. But Rose cleared her throat gently. He rolled over to see her sitting in the corner, her staff held upright. “What do you want?”

“When we face Tiberius, we should have a plan.”

Echo nodded and sat up slightly, “Right. What did you have in mind?”

---

Morning came. Tiberius had spent the night in meditation, his new body not needing any sleep. He had planted the Sunburst Lantern at the center of the peak, and with a contingent spell, it would activate and prevent all Abilities and Spells within a one-hundred-meter radius. The fight between him and Echo would be decided purely by their stats alone.

Who will win?

The fear of the unknown filled Tiberius with an odd, giddy elation. He had been so certain of every move he had made. Every single action he took was calculated or decided upon using the best rationale he could come up with in the moment. Sure, he had made mistakes in his plans. And yes, he had let emotion cloud his decisions. But everything was leading to this moment. He had the opportunity to examine his past decisions, and one stood out to him as a mistake. One he should never have made.

White Rose…

Tiberius thought back with a smile as he recalled their time together. Decades spent delving into each other’s intellect. He had never felt any sexual desires, but he craved intellectual companionship. And she provided that. Possibly the happiest years of his life. All brought crumbling down because of his ambition in creating a monster capable of devouring the gods themselves. He threw away a possible eternity with someone who could match his wits. And, thanks to a divination Affinity spell, he knew that she was with Echo. In the mountain South of and below the one he now sat atop.

Ah, an interesting plan.

He had expected them to use the Aether Forge, but he did not expect them to suffuse White Rose with its Domain. Nor that they would not shatter both and give her the ability to channel divine Heat all on her own.

It would be the most dangerous situation he could deal with. Within the radius of the Sunburst Lantern, he would not be able to stop her. But her miracles wrought through the shard could still function.

Good thing I have a backup plan.

He sighed as The Sun and Inferno slowly climbed the sky in the East. “It’s almost time.” He stood up and prepared, donning the bone-wrought armor and weaponry he had spent much time creating – Dragonbone harvested from the corpse of a black dragon near Kaad. The same black dragon that Vythin Goldenscales once served. One of the oldest and strongest of his kind before he succumbed to his wounds. The weaponry would serve well against Echo’s Divine Metal augmented gear.

The clouds below began to part as a pair of figures flew up towards the top of the mountain.

And here they come…