I tried to focus on the large wave of energy that was heading toward me, but my eyes showed me nothing. Not only that, but the wave was too large and fast; there was no way for me to dodge it.
I have to withstand it!
I crossed my arms in a poor attempt at guarding myself from the wind, but the wave crashed into me like a tornado, sending me flying and tumbling backward.
It felt like I was flying for miles before I crashed into, and then through, something solid: the walls of Diogen's castle. Rubble fell all around me as I ended up on the lower floors.
As I lay on the floor, I coughed up blood and felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder. One look told me that it was dislocated. Knowing that Zir had attacks that he could use at range filled me with new fear. My Golden Eye seemed to be unable to predict the trajectory of wind or air attacks, as they were an almost invisible force.
I thought Zir would be a good matchup for me, but I was wrong. He is the worst...
No, I cannot give up yet. I just need to hold him off long enough for either Lasandra or Diogen to come to my aid.
Forcing myself to my feet, I looked outside through the hole in the wall to see Zir dashing towards me. The damage from the fall had slowed him down, but I too was damaged.
Regardless, I began to run deeper into the castle. I traveled down halls and heard heavy footsteps coming from behind me as Zir chased with intention. I tried to sense the presence of other gods but wasn't able to. The damage I had taken had seemed to render the power useless.
Still, I continued running until I reached a staircase that would lead from the ground floor to the first floor, my left arm hanging limp by my side from the dislocation. I only made it to the hallway of the first floor before Zir caught up to me.
I heard a loud clap coming from behind me as I sprinted and instantly used my Omnidirectional Vision in an attempt to see where it came from, but it was no use. The attack showed a large ripple through the air that seemed to cover the entire hallway.
Is it over for me?
The force hit me again, though with less power than before. Still, it sent me flying down the hallway, tumbling over myself until I came to a stop on the ground.
I couldn't move; my hip felt wrong and out of place. Any minor movement sent a sharp pain running through my entire body. I heard the footsteps of Zir, and he slowly walked towards my battered form.
He looked confident and only slightly cut and bruised from the two times I had thrown him earlier.
It is over. And he has yet to even show me his full power.
I was ready to give up, to leave the god game there and hopefully return to the Earth that I had seemingly forgotten about, to the disjointed family that I hardly cared for, to the monotony of my previous life...
To my lost brother...
No. No!
I tried to push myself up once again, forcing myself through the pain, but it was too much.
Come on, Fate, are you going to let it end here!
I gritted my teeth through the pain and managed to barely stand. The injury in my hip sent pain throughout my entire lower body, but it was just manageable enough to stand. What was certain, though, was that I could not run or fight. Atleast not well.
"Just give up, Fate. If you accept defeat, I will leave you alive for now. My intention in coming here was to kill Diogen, after all," Zir said, and suddenly, something miraculous happened.
As if on cue, the man whose name had just been mentioned appeared in the hallway, standing in the space between Zir and me.
"Diogen!" I managed to call to him, my voice raspy.
The man didn't look back at me and instead faced Zir. His black suit jacket had been torn to shreds, leaving behind a white, long-sleeved shirt, which was drenched in blood.
He was either bleeding profusely, or it was the blood of his enemy, Omiotres.
"My battle has been won, Fate. You need not worry anymore," Diogen said confidently.
I wanted to cheer with joy. Diogen had disposed of his opponent and still seemed strong enough to continue fighting. Unfortunately, I myself was too beaten up to be of any help in the battle, but I could still use my Golden Eye to aid him.
Now, as long as Lasandra can beat Martilanos and come to help, our victory is certain.
Zir watched Diogen with a smirk on his face, showing us that he was still confident.
"Is Martilanos dead?" he asked.
"It does not matter. He is unable to battle, and it is impossible for him to return here," Diogen replied, which led Zir to let out a bellowing laugh.
"Well, regardless, you have made my job easier by coming here. We'll see if you can get away a second time."
Zir dashed towards us with blinding speed, and Diogen vanished. A loud impact that seemed to send ripples through the air took place somewhere between them, but before another second passed, they returned to their original locations.
Diogen seemed fine, but one look at Zir told me that something incredible had happened during that split second. Zir's left arm hung limp at his side.
"How do you expect your speed to overpower someone who can travel through space itself in an instant?" Diogen taunted, and the two gods vanished again.
This time, I focused on using my Golden Eye to see what might happen, but it was no use. The Seventh god was too fast, and his blessing too strong.
They clashed again, but this time, Zir was sent flying backward down the hallway. He managed to flip himself and land on his feet in a slide, recovering well. And as he did, he opened his arms wide as I had seen him do before.
"Watch out, Diogen!" I shouted, trying to warn the man, but he must have seen the ability before.
Zir clapped his hands, sending the tremendous wave of energy towards us, once again taking up the entire space of the hallway.
As he did, Diogen placed two of his fingertips together and closed his eyes. A strange popping sound came from in front of him as a large, thick cloud mystically appeared, before vanishing again in an instant, revealing a brick wall that had somehow been built into the ground, designed to defend us from the blast of energy. I quickly dived behind the wall.
I felt the wave fly past us, but as it met the wall created by Diogen, it was stopped, leaving us both completely safe. Then, Diogen pushed his hands forward as though he was shoving someone, and the wall shattered, sending brick particles flying down the hallway toward Zir. It was chaos, and with my injuries, I thought it wasn't safe for me to be there, but there was nowhere to hide.
I watched as Zir swatted the bricks away using his hands and feet, with incredible precision, and made his way towards us once again. But Diogen wasn't finished. He vanished once again, appearing behind Zir and delivering a double palmed blow to his back, sending him flying down the corridor towards me.
Diogen teleported again, twice. First, he vanished to grab one of the flying pieces of brick, then he teleported again to where Zir was landing and smashed the brick into his face. It left a gruesome crunching sound echoing through the hallway, and Zir was left sliding on the floor with blood spilling from wounds on his mangled face.
Diogen was hunched over, gasping for air. The teleportations had seemed to take a lot of energy from him.
Is it over? Have we won? I thought to myself as I watched Zir lying on the floor, still. But only for a moment.
The fourth gods body began to radiate with a dark mist, a black shadow that filled my very soul with fear. Diogen began to back away from it and waved for me to do the same.
"It's not over yet, Fate. And I need you to help me here. Your body should be slowly repairing itself from its injuries. You will need to fight."
Zir's form began to float in the air, as though he were being drawn up into the heavens, and his limp body remained hovering a meter off the ground, the dark essence still emerging from him.
"Zir has only been drawn into this form once, and I hoped to never have to see it myself. But we're here now, though. We have no other choice."
Zir suddenly began to transform. His red hair suddenly grew longer, until it flowed past his back. His ashen-black skin began to grow fur, and his face began to shift into a form that could not have been human. Worst of all, his already large body began to grow, every muscle doubling in size, and he changed so much that he no longer walked on two legs but instead used his hands to walk as though he were an animal.
After his face changed, I realized I was mistaken. He was an animal.
"The Black Lion," Diogen said as Zir stopped hovering and faced us. He opened his mouth to let out an incredible roar that must have been able to be heard by anyone within a five-mile radius. And my heart was filled with fear.