Echo was as prepared as he could be. He had cast several spells on himself and Rose, as well as activated Bulwark. His body coruscated with multiple silvery and crimson barriers which also covered Rose. His weapon was fluctuating through every Affinity that did not negate each other that he could access. And they flew up higher and higher until they were well above the peak.

The top of the mountain had been transmuted to be a flat surface. The snow was cleared off. And at the far side a familiar figure stood upright. Covered in plate armor made from bone and with several bone weapons planted near him into the ground – swords, hammers, spears. At the center of the platform was Malvir’s artifact, and a small lantern that stood on a pedestal.

“Welcome!” Tiberius’ voice echoed up to the two flying above. “A fitting place for our final fight.”

Rose cursed and began to channel her Quintessence, the air cooling around her to subzero temperatures. “Now!”

Echo used his teleportation bracelet to close the distance to Tiberius instantly – repeatedly activating the magic item until all of its charges were gone – and stabbed the monstrous man from behind.

KILL!

CONSUME!

EVOLVE!

Tiberius growled and whirled around – almost wrenching the sword from Echo’s grip. His eyes narrowed and went pure black as his own Evolution Instinct pushed him to violence, and the contingent spell went off.

The sunburst lantern turned on, blanketing the whole mountaintop in its divine radiance that cancelled Quintessence – every spell, every Ability save for Evolution Instinct and its upgrades. Echo pressed the assault and continued to swing his sword at Tiberius, coming in from various angles as his hated foe grew several arms that picked up the various weapons around him, some new feature of his new body.

---

Really? This is your plan?

Rose shook her head and changed the intent of her gathered Quintessence, pushing it towards the Aether Shard in the tip of her staff, and preparing a miracle. But her singular intent blinded her to the danger nearby.

Something grabbed her from below. Glancing down, she felt a chill cross over her. A monster made from an Aberration. A creature of The Void, turned to Tiberius’ will. It took the appearance of a massive centipede that flew through the skies on thousands of fluttering wings.

It swallowed her whole. Rose felt compressed from all sides and focused her will on her miracle, muttering the intent. “Destroy this creature.”

The world distorted and warped around her as the gravity increased massively. Her staff acted as a needle that ripped through the flesh of the creature as it fell around her, crashing down towards the mountain.

Inconvenient.

Rose began to ascend but cursed as the creature’s body wriggled and split, forming two versions that were no longer affected by her miracle. “Sorry Echo, you’re on your own.” She turned to face the two creatures, drawing upon her prodigious Quintessence stores, and casting a flurry of Glacial Blasts at the two creatures. Each time they were impacted and began to fall, they would split into two and keep coming.

“Die already! It comes for us all eventually, Death Cloud." Rose released the devastating, black mist as she felt winded, her Quintessence dropping dangerously low.

But the spell did the trick, as the expanse of death and necrosis spread all around the mountain, smothering the aberrations as they withered to nothingness.

What type of madness made you try that?

Tiberius had threatened all of Heimfold by keeping a Void Aberration alive. And turning it into a monster should not be possible.

What did you do?

She ascended to the peak, fearing she would be too late.

---

Echo blocked a hammer blow that came in horizontally from his left, rumbling with a shockwave of compressed air, before ducking under an enormous mace that spurted flames as it crested overhead, and then parrying a massive greatsword that flickered with miasmic shadows. He did not have his Perfect Defense or Perfect Offense to rely upon in this situation. He was instead drawing on every ounce of training and body memory from sparring with Fumi in a one-on-one matchup.

But this was more like fighting three opponents at once. Echo was being sliced and bashed – his armor absorbing much of the impact. Whatever was enabling the elemental energy seemed to be unaffected by the Sunburst Lantern, and he suffered burns, blasts of concussive air, and shadows that crawled over his body and slowly tore away at him. But there was something unique about Tiberius’ weapons – they seemed to be able to bite through the thin Brightsteel plates hidden within the armor. If not for the Kevlar-like consistency of stacked and reinforced silk, he would have suffered much more.

Tiberius yelled as he swung. Both monsters were consumed with the intent to kill the other. He swung his weapons in a difficult-to-dodge or block combination – mace and sword sweeping in horizontally at chest and waist height, whilst the spear stabbed upwards. Echo jumped and turned his body horizontal, twisting in between the two weapons as the spear only managed to nick his calf. He landed and launched himself forward, slamming his shield into Tiberius’ face and knocking the two back towards the center of the platform.

Tiberius dropped his sword and used the hand to grab Echo, holding his shield still as the spear stabbed inward. Echo kicked the spear away and wheeled his leg around, using his held arm as a fulcrum as his Adamantine greave slammed into Tiberius’ face, and using the momentum to wrap his other leg around Tiberius’ neck to begin choking him.

“Just die!” Echo screamed as he squeezed.

Tiberius cackled madly and stabbed upwards, the spear piercing into Echo’s side. Echo stabbed into Tiberius in kind, over and over. Red blood and ichor splattered out with each thrust, the gore covering the ground in a slick mat. Tiberius tried to throw Echo off, but the Monster of the Guild used the momentum to swing around and get behind Tiberius, sliding his hand out of the shield to grip Tiberius’ upper jaw, wrenching upwards as he tried to rip the man’s head off.

Tiberius flung himself backward and crunched Echo into the ground. He rolled, trying to get Echo off. But Echo refused to let go.

KILL!

Echo dropped his sword and shoved his arm down Tiberius’ throat, ripping through his esophagus and clawing to create a hole. He reached down into his chest cavity and took ahold of Tiberius’ heart through muscle and sinew, ripping it out. The organ tore free and blood spewed upward as Echo watched the light fade from his foe’s eyes.

CONSUME!

He bit down into the heart, savoring the sweet, tangy flavor, made all the sweeter by knowing he had achieved his revenge.

EVOLVE!

Echo screamed as his body warped and spasmed.

---

Rose reached the summit as Echo shoved his arm down Tiberius’ throat. She flew under the gravity Domain’s power to the center of the platform, turning the Sunburst Lantern off so she could finally get her revenge.

She prepared her last vial and pooled the lingering traces of her Quintessence into her staff. She spotted the brown-colored flicker of light that tried to speed away. “Become captive to my call, Soul Cage!” Her icy-blue Quintessence flared out and gripped his soul, pulling him inexorably back until she corked the bottle, trapping him.

She looked up to see Echo screaming and writhing on the ground. If she hadn’t turned off the Lantern, he may not have survived.

She had to shield her eyes as his body glowed brighter and brighter, heating up more and more, as he evolved.

---

Echo’s vision was transported elsewhere. He knew he was not in his body. His soul was somewhere else. He could feel his body, feel a tether grounding him. But otherwise, he felt just like he did in Last Light Temple when he died in his past life. But he was not in a temple of white stone, and there was no warm, orange flame that beckoned him forward. He was in a gap between spaces, surrounded by sparkling starlight.

Did I die again?

A chuckle came out of the silence. “No, no you did not.” He turned to face the individual whose voice pierced whatever realm he was now in. The familiar face and attire of the Arbiter of Souls looked at him. They floated across from each other. “You’ve done something I never expected, Echo. You have touched the very heart of The Universe.”

And I’m supposed to know what that means?

“When creatures reach a certain threshold of power – stats as Heimfold and many other worlds refer to them as – you are allowed to converse with The Arbiter of Souls, and ask any one, single question. And I will tell you the most honest answer possible.” He crossed his arms, “And no, your prior question doesn’t count.”

Right. So, if I was some average adventurer who eventually got strong enough to get here, I could get any question I wanted answered.

“That’s right. And they would be amazed to meet the Prime god responsible for the flow of souls.” Kalinor chuckled, “But that’s not the case for you.”

Any question.

“That’s right.”

Echo thought in that timeless space. What did he want to know? He knew how to get Fumi back. And that’s what he really wanted, was her back. To experience the wonders that the world – maybe every world – had to offer.

My question is this: What do you want me to do?

Kalinor’s mouth cracked into a wide smile, and he floated forward, putting a hand over Echo’s spiritual form. “That is probably the wisest question one could ask of a Prime god.” He leaned forward and whispered to Echo.

Understood.

“I will send you back now. Good luck.”

Echo felt himself pulled out of this realm and back to his body.

---

Rose skirted the still-steaming and smoking body of her companion as she went to Tiberius’ body. “Improve upon my form, Siphon Strength.” The corpse turned to dust. She turned around and went to Echo, gently supporting his head as his breathing returned to normal, and his body cooled. She pulled her identification out to check what had changed.

 

Good. Very good.

She looked back at Echo as he coughed, and she cupped his cheek. “Thank you, Echo. For helping me get my revenge.”

He blinked his eyes open. He didn’t have silver iris eyes anymore – they were full of color, just like Aether Shards. However, the crimson flecks marking him as a monster were still there, still dominant, scattered amongst the prismatic display.

---

“Did we get the Cube?” Echo shot up to a sitting position. The Cube sat right under the Sunburst Lantern, and he sprinted over to it, grabbing it and opening the Pocket Dimension. “Come on! Help me out.”

Rose held the Mimic Cube while Echo gently pulled Fumi’s soul vial out of her chest cavity and set it aside. He gently lifted her body out and set it on the ground. “How does this work?”

“Artifacts just require you to speak or think your intent.” She held the Cube out to Echo, and he grabbed it, putting it on Fumi’s stomach, and keeping his hand on top of it.

“Bring her back. Fix her body.”

The Cube glowed as all sides illuminated – much different from the last time, as it was no longer purple, but instead each of the faces was covered with the symbol of the Prime Domains. A prismatic-colored slime oozed out and covered Fumi’s body. Echo had to turn away as the intense light flared out, and when it faded, he looked back.

Fumi’s body was fixed. She was breathing gently, and he put his hand on her neck, feeling a pulse. Rose smirked, “Good.”

Echo grabbed the Cube and put it into the pocket dimension. He cradled Fumi in his arms, “Her body is alive…but she’s not really back, right?”

Rose nodded, “We need to restore her mind. Then, I can put her spirit back.”

“We can’t put her body back into the pocket dimension; she’ll suffocate.”

Rose put her hand to her chin, thinking. “You have the air Affinity, yes?”

Echo pulled out his identification, and his eyes went wide.

 

 

I’m a Universalist.

That meant that he could fix Fumi right here, right now.

Rose put a hand on his shoulder, seemingly reading his mind. “You don’t want to mess this up, do you?” Echo shook his head. “Well then, we go to Bastion, and meet this Selena person. A god with the mind Domain will be much better to get Fumi back.”

Echo nodded and held Fumi’s body, cradled in his arms, and cast an air Affinity spell – combined with transmutation – that would turn the carbon dioxide from her exhalation back into breathable air. The strain on his Quintessence from keeping the spell active was minute, and he gently placed her back into the pocket dimension, putting her soul vial in her hand. He closed the portal, and turn to Rose. “Let’s go.”

He manifested his wings which were larger than before, crackling with prismatic, multi-colored energy, and the two began to fly towards the closest Guild Hall – South over the Rift Sea, towards The Kingdom of Cruxia, and the town of Kingdom’s End.