"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature."
― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
"Trust me, you guys are going to love…"
Ven, Cain and the Dragon God appeared amidst the ruins of the capital. His praise for the food carts lodged in his throat as he took in the destruction.
"What the HELL happened here…" Ven shuffled toward a shattered food stall. "Wait… Mara and Brull!"
He lept into the air, aura extended like a coming eclipse. Cain and the Goddess followed, tensions high.
"Be careful" Cain drew his dagger. "I smell the avatars of cowards.'
"This is the kingdom you described," The Dragon God squinted. "It seems to have changed from your depictions…"
A vaste light exploded to fill their vision. It faded to reveal a changed sky, twisted into the form of a woman. She raised a sword of runes and cleaved the world. A galaxy descended to one side of the city, drawn into the edge of a blade.
A river of comic force split the land, the plains replaced with a long expanse. It descended into darkness and continued to the horizon. Ven turned toward the reformed land, speed pressed to the max.
"HOW DARE YOU!!!"
A voice thundered, loud enough to push at the clouds. A ripple extended up one side of the new ravine and a tall man in a tattered toga bounded past its lip. A ragged scar ran down the length of his body, fists shaved to the bone.
"WHERE ARE YOU.. HATEFUL BITCH!" He slammed his ravaged hands into the ground and raised a mountain of earth. Half the city heaved, folded and buried by the storm.
"HEY!" Ven swooped down, aura folded into a midnight cloak. "I live here, you ass!"
"Who are you," The man opened and closed his fists, the wounds almost healed. "And why should I care?"
"That's my line…"
"VEN," Rafe popped up from between two collapsed buildings. "Look out, Hercules is more than an Earth Deity, his…"
"Shut up, little bug," Hercules appeared at Rafe's back. "Sun Wukong should have just killed you, instead he played pointless games."
A vast hand snapped shut on Rafe's neck. Hercules lifted the halfling up like a sack, a cruel grin in his eyes. Ven launched himself forward, Cain beside him. They rushed toward their captured friend, too late.
"When you meet a bug… you crush it to spare the crop."
Faster than Ven could follow, Hercules clapped his hands. A spray of blood fanned over them, the remains of Ven's fairweather friend. A buzz rose in his ears. Hercules spoke, but Ven heard only the hum. Flickered visions of Rafe, up to some mischief, dotted his sight.
"I'll kill you," Ven's voice was soft, his face flat, empty of expression. Sound returned to the world as Hercules laughed.
"Really… and how do you figure that will happen?" The big man thumped his healed chest. "Are you going to choke me with your blood as you die?"
"No," Ven removed his mask and placed it into his pouch. "I'm going to drain you until only a half life remains, and then I'll eat you alive."
"Bwahahaha!"
Hercules doubled over, his eyes awash with tears. He rolled on the ground as Ven walked forward, purpose in his steps.
"It's been a long time since I've laughed like that," Hercules held his sides as he thumped his feet in the grass. "I'll give you a quick death, mortal, a reward for such a fine joke!"
"It's not a joke," The light from the sun slipped into Ven's eyes, the black holes at their centres spread wide. "I can smell your core, murderer, and it only carries the taste of food."
Ven had spent hundreds of thousands of years trapped in Cain's purgatory. His active thoughts had been focused on runes, but his passive growth had never stopped. He had no idea how strong he was, but he had something no one else did.
"Impudent…"
Ven's aura stole Hercules' words as it unfolded to replace the day. An expanse of night that stretched from horizon to horizon. Heat vanished, sucked to the black mist that took the air's place. Plants withered, their lifeforce syphoned by its indiscriminate hunger.
Bands of resplendent force pulled free of Hercules' body, gold streamers that fell into Ven's eyes. The bulky man stumbled, shock printed on his face. A gold aura rose around him, it stalled the loss, but didn't stop it.
"You.." Hercules' eyes gleamed, no longer bored. "You're the Titan we've been told to hunt, but you don't come across like they did, not until you open your hungry mouth!"
"Titan? Old one? I don't care," Ven shrugged. "Today, I'm nothing but a predator."
*************************************************************
"What's wrong?"
Brull rested a hand on Vivian's shoulder. The woman stood, frozen in place, like a deer who'd sighted a wolf. She flinched at his touch, face a wooden mask.
"Nothing… I just…"
A second sun entered the sky, perched above the lake. A sword, wreathed in gold and white, descended to the sound of bells.
"Master's sword…" Lyra's eyes reflected the blaze as the weapon fell. "Why is it here…"
"It has come for its new owner, the next in line to wield the sword of swords," Vivian avoided Lyra's gaze. "Go, Brull, it is time to receive your title." She faded to mist that entered the lake.
"Arthur…" Brull muttered, eyes on the sword. He turned away and addressed the still waters before them. "You said that it was his until death, how can I take it…"
'The King of Knights has fallen," Vivian's voice bubbled from the depths, awash in misery. "Long live the King of Knights…"
Excalibur floated on intangible winds, a star that stood within reach. Brull ignored it. He turned to Lyra, who'd turned the colour of ash.
"I'm sorry…" He pulled her into a hug.
"He must have known… why else would he have sent us here?" Lyra rocked in his grasp, muscles wooden. "We should have stayed to help…"
"He sent us here so we'd live to grow stronger," Brull squeezed her tight, until she hugged him back. "If they can defeat Arthur, neither of us stand a chance."
A soft nudge bumped at the back of his head, Excalibur's patience was worn thin. It tapped at him until he released Lyra and reached for its hilt.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, hold your…"
His fingers met the sword and the world vanished. He stood alone, adrift in the beauty of the heavens. Stars moved with him as their centre, the universe in his orbit. Several small suns closed on him, low and steady in the night. They pressed together, a wrap of flame that settled into the form of a woman.
"Greetings, Brull," Her blond hair blocked her face, but she stood a head and shoulders taller than the average man. Covered in starlit armour, she held out a sheathed sword. "It is time to take on the legacy of Kings…"