The Hero had fallen asleep after a while, unaware of the scratching sounds that were against the boulder Arkanos had placed in front of the opening. The boulder shifted slowly, moving to the side and exposing a portion of the cave to the outside world, large claws scraping at the newly revealed ground. The growling and snarls grew louder as the boulder was pushed. Kualna's eyes fluttered as she began to regain consciousness, the new noises disturbing her slumber. She tried to sit up, but her injury sent a jolt of pain throughout her body. She winced, holding where the pain originated from. She breathed through the pain, opening her eyes once more and taking in her surroundings. She saw that she was in a cave, and that the Hero was laying next to her on the floor, face up and breathing gently. She then remembered the noise that was waking her up and looked to the cave entrance, seeing the red glowing eyes of one of those creatures.
Beginning to panic, Kulana tapped on the Hero's shoulder, trying not to lean on her injured arm to much. "Hey, wake up. Hey." She tried to say, her voice low and dry. She was almost killed by one of those things, and she didn't want to have another encounter with them. She continued to tap the Hero as the monsters managed to push the stone away more, exposing the sky to her. She saw that the sky was a beautiful red behind them, then suddenly the great ball of light began to crest over the horizon. The moment the sun came into view, the monsters howled and hissed and Kulana believed she heard a sizzling coming from them. She saw the one attempting to squeeze into the cave begin to emit smoke, then giving up, slid back out and bolted to the forest. She breathed a sigh of relief as the monsters ran away. "I suppose they don't like the sun." She said to herself, pausing for a moment to contemplate about all of the tales the Shaman had told her. "If they hate the sun, that means they are monsters of the Underworld. Creatures of True Dark." She shuddered at the thought, knowing that if they exist, the tales of their terrible powers also had to be true.
She jumped when the boulder slid away, revealing a stranger standing in the way of the light. She began panting, not sure who this stranger was, and her breath increased when the stranger approached them. She began to mentally prepare a spell that would dispel the stranger if he came too close. So imagine her surprise when she completed the spell and the barrier that was formed around her was shattered the moment the man walked past the threshold. "Relax, girl. I am the man you were sent to find." The stranger said to a stunned Kulana. the maiden simply stared at him, shocked that he had dispelled her magic so easily. This man looked nothing like a god, yet he showed the powers of one. The man looked towards the Hero, shaking his head. "This guy was seconds away from becoming some monster's dinner. Some hero he is." The man closed the distance between him and Kulana and began to lift her up. She almost started to protest, but he stopped her. "You need to save your strength. Saber Tail poison is potent, and although I cured it, the effects are still present. Moving on your own right now would be unwise." He explained, and Kulana could not help but listen.
He nodded and then looked down to the Hero, who had not woken up from all of the commotion that was happening. Arkanos sighed, lightly kicking the Hero in the thigh. This sent him to his feet, shouting in pain. "I'm Up! I'm Up! No need to beat me!" The Hero rubs his thigh, trying to rub the pain away. He looked to Arkanos, seeing that Kulana was away. "How are you feeling?" He asked.
Kulana turned away from the Hero, looking out to the island proper. "I feel kind of numb, but I'm awake. We should head out soon."
The Hero nodded, pulling his axe out, ready for anything. "I agree. Let's go." Arkanos nodded, turning around and carefully walking out of the cave, making sure that Kulana did not scrape against the cave wall.
"Boy, there is something I need you to grab." Arkanos said as he reached the entrance. The Hero stopped, focusing on the man. "That makeshift table over there?" He nodded back into the cave, causing the Hero to turn and look at the clothed object. It looked strange, too curved to be a table. "Grab it." The Hero complied, moving towards the table. He grabbed the cloth and tore it off, revealing a pristine copper shield. It was nothing like the Hero or Kulana had ever seen before. The Hero saw the two leather straps that he believed his arm was supposed to go in and slid his arm in, grabbing the thick leather piece tightly and lifting it up. It took all of his strength just to heave the thing off of the makeshift wooden legs, which fell down once the shield was off. He groaned, turning to Arkanos and Kulana. Arkanos grinned slightly seeing the large shield, while Kulana was perplexed to what the symbol on the face of the shield meant. A strange unfinished circle with a fist in the center of it. "That shield will protect you from anything. The symbol on it causes fear to all of those who gaze upon it. Treat it well." The Hero held the shield up with both hands, having sheathed his axe, and nodded, grunting as he approached Arkanos and Kulana.
Arkanos stepped out of the cave and out towards the forest, approaching what looked to be a large path. Slowly, he walked down the hill and towards the freshly cut trees. The Hero and Kulana were in awe; they were ably to see their canoe from here. Arkanos had cut down all of the trees that were in their way and made a path. It was then that the Hero noticed glowing eyes and dark bodies hiding past the tree line. The Saber Tails were hiding from the sun and did not dare come close to try and fire a spike at them. "The sun is their weakness. They can't see a damn thing past the tree's shade." Arkanos explained. "I know who spawned these beasts, and let's just say that he isn't the brightest tool in the shed." Neither of the two islanders understood the expression, and Arkanos simply chuckled.
The canoe grew closer, and they were about to reach the beach when Arkanos stumbled. Kulana prepared to land on her feet, but she was surprised to see that Arkanos' arm still held onto her, preventing her from falling. "Apologies, mortal, but I haven't been on the beach for some time." She simply nodded, still surprised that he was able to keep her from falling. Arkanos made his way to the canoe, making sure to slowly let his feet stop sinking into the sand before taking another step. The Hero was also struggling with moving in the sand, the shield dragging along beside him.
Finally, Arkanos and Kulana reached the canoe, and Arkanos gingerly set her down on the side of the vessel. Then after removing his arm, he moved to the Hero, taking the shield from him easily. "Perhaps we should increase your strength before you try using that." He commented, sliding his arm into the straps. The Hero, feeling ashamed, nodded, hopping onto the canoe.
Kulana looked to the Hero, whispering. "Is he really the fallen god?" She asked, wanting to confirm her suspicion. The Hero nodded, looking to Arkanos as he pushed the ship off of the island and into the waves. Kulana looked back to the god, still surprised that this disheveled man was once a god.
But she guessed that was why he was referred to as the Fallen god. He was once an all powerful being stuck in the mortal realm. He had fallen from grace.
But now he was on the path of redemption.