The Hunted

**The Hunted** is meant to be a fanfic taking place in the continuity if the rp.

## Story

### Chapter 1: Times of Order

There was a slight sense of unease in the temple of Yharim. Only a short while ago, one of their elites had perished in battle. She was a weaker elite, sure, but that is still no small feat. So, the tyrant had sent out an order to his many elites for a meeting. And now, it was time to carry it out.

High up in a garden, raised to take in the sun, were a resting pair. Upon their belly was a red dragon with purple bands around its legs and neck, along with a beak-like mouth. This was the tyrant's mighty pet, Yharon the Jungle Dragon. And at his side was, dressed in mighty, gold-hued armor, a thick lavendar cloak around his shoulders, and thick red plumage from the top of his helm, was Yharim, the mad tyrant, the mighty ruler of worlds, currently stationed on Terraria. A short while ago, he had taken his stress out on whatever soldier was available, before retreating to the gardens to relax in the thrall of his dragon.

Yharim was pinching at what would've been the bridge of his nose, were his mighty auric armor not guarding it.

"Yharon, when's the last time we'd suffered a loss of general?" Yharim asked. The dragon was quiet. "Exactly, it hadn't even been years. Our elites made sure that resistance could grow that piwerful again. So then how... how did these random warriors in the middle of some deserted island eliminate her? It doesn't make sense, does it?" The dragon grunted, before weakly flapping one of its wings.

"I suppose you're right, things have been slowly changing," the tyrant admitted. "This must've all started with the fall of the Slime Gods. Were they around, they probably would've found those rebels and squashed them into paste. Then we lose the only other Calamitas clone. And then... then there was that bug..." He muttered and gripped at the garden grass beneath him. "It's like the universe is slowly conspiring to have the worst fates fall upon our army..." Yharon was silent once more. However, he began to stand uo, followed by Yharim. "You're right, this must all be discussed in the meeting." With that, the two of them headed for a stairwell in the rear of the garden to lead back down into the terrifying fortress.

Down there, he'd be greeted by numerous soldiers, champions, and etc, each standing guard around his hall. They seemed as jf they were just getting into position before the two had begun heading down. Yharim inwardly remarked how useless these lot were. He cpuld probably replace all of their jobs with the elite. But instead, he had to spend resources on these nobodies, and had to maintain some level of empathy around them, lest they all turncoat. Still, they were here, having been established ages ago, and he had no easy way tk rid himself of them. At least not until he had some frustration to vent.

That being said, Yharim approached the chamber of the elite, it in the middle of the highest tower of the temple. Inside bore a rectangular table, his throne positioned at the head. 5 of the elite were psoitined along either edge of the table, Yharon stepping up next to a cyborg dressed in a white cloak. On the other side sat a massive, gelatinous creature, and next to him was a witch with flaming armor, and next to her stood a road-sized worm in thick armor. At the other end of the table, what was the seventh elite's chair, is currently filled out by a mermaid-like. Aside Yharon, they were Draedon, the Slime God, Calamitas, the Devourer of Gods, and Anahita respectively.

He sat down on the throne and looked out over the elites, who seemed upright at attention. He scanned over them.

"Let us recap recent events," Yharim spoke up. "Devourer, you and Calamitas were tasked with annhilating Noxus. Hiwever, it fled mid combat." The Devourer and the witch nodded in understanding. "Corsanor's been felled in combat." At that, Anahita lowered her head, sighing. "Long story short, we've hit a slump in our performance. And it appears to've started the moment we made contact with those rogues on the island."

"Those individuals have been exceptionally powerful lately," Draedon said. "They'd apparently taken down the plague goliath where our men failed."

"We must scorch them to ash," Calamitas said.

"Hold," Yharim commanded. "We each still need to claim Xeroc's soul. The Slime God is in charge of security, so he should mobilize forces against them. Especially after pur soldiers failed against them. Surely you have warriors stronger than Corsanor, yes?"

"I do," the Slime God answered.

"And you, Anahita. You have a vendetta, yes?" Yharim asked Anahita.

"...They will pay..." Anahita answered.

"So, for now, you are the appointed elite general," Yharim announced. "And then, we have business with the rest of you."

"Alright! Let's kick some a--!" the Devourer started. However, his voice droned on from a shout to a sort of horn noise as he seemed to physically slow down. Yharim, curious, looked up at the worm. He rose a brow as the worm seemed to've frozen in time.

"Devourer?" Yharim asked. More silence, not just from the Devourer. Which was weird, cause surely someone else would react, yes? He glanced around to the other elite, to find them paused. Even Yharon's flapping wings were stuck in no motion. Yharim stood up from his throne, before walking around the table. He looked over each individual as he walked around them, and they each seemed frozen, unable to glance at either of them.

As he walked, he felt a tingling feeling throughout his core. He brought a hand to his chest, and the plume upon his helm seemed to tingle, stsrting to rise as the electricity coursed through him. And then, he felt G Force hit him like a truck, when he suddenly felt himself hurled from his feet. However, rather than tumble through the elite quarters, he spun through what could only be described as a swirl of lights.

He tumbled and tumbled, shaking as the force hurtled him through it. His arms were pulled towards his sides, and he felt his legs threaten to rend themselves from his sockets! He grit his teeth as he kept on tumbling and clenched his hands into fists. As he did, he heard the worrying noise of metal shattering. He looked at his sides, and could see his gauntlets peeling off of his arms, exposing the muscular and thick arms beneath.

His leggings also began to pry off, and his chestplate too. Pieces upon pieces of armor was left behind in this strange void of lights, removing his protectice gear and keaving only his ratty clothing underneath, them worn from several years of never reloving that armor. Finally, he felt his helm fall apart, before the scraps are hurtled into space, the "plume" remaining attached to his head, the hairs fraying outwards as tbey're unrestricted by the helm.

Eventually, he could see the multitude of colrs converge ahead of him into a bright white light, him threatening to ram into it. He grit his teeth, before bellowing out a roar-like yell as he came in closer and closer...

Yharim finds himself feet-first upon solid ground. He panted and felt sweat pouring down his brow. He carefully pats his feet around, beforr standing up on his feet. The ground beneath him is concrete, and he sees what seems to be a magic circle around him, with numerous now dead citizens lining the edges. However, rather than be normal humans, they each appeared to be plant-like beings with big, alien eyes.

Looking closer st the general environment also told him more and more that this wasn't Terraria. He could see two moons looming overhead, the atmosphere seemed to have a green glow, and the general architecture, rather than be made of manmade material, looked as if they were grown straight from the planet. And as Yharim looked around in confused, he soon spied a man with thick, graying hair, wielding a staff made of some sort of Auric medal, sporting a crown-shaped head of spikes. He appeared to be the sole survivor sround here.

"Who are you?" Yharim asked. The staff-wielding man seems to take a few steps forwards, said staff clacking mightily against the ground. However, as they walked, they looked up tkwards the sky, their hair shielding their expression from Yharim. The tyrant followed the elder's gaze towards the sky, where he witnessed a thick cloud of orange begin to descend from space.

He looked closer and closer, before he began to make out individual shapes. The orange hues appears to be a combination of the heads of their weapons, and their wings. Said wings seemed moth-like, while those that weild them look around 5'5", bearing sharp insect legs and gnarly looking arms with chitanous spikes around the elbow, and dagger-sharp fingers. The soft glow of orange seemed to emanate through them, forming lines over their legs and arms, while their eyes glowed beight. Meanwhile, from spears and axes with glowing heads, to swords with blazing blades, to bows with shining strings, to scythes with blades the glow of a campfire, they seemed equiped with uniform weapons.

Immediately, the image brought one creature to Yharim's mind. Had that beast gone and summoned up whatever coalition of Xeroc worshippers he had on hand? Hr glanced back tiwards the elder, who seemed to've fled at the sight. Yharim then glanced at the cloud of orange, who were sweeping down low. He saw many, many of them take up javelins, whose entire body glowed like the dangerous parts of their weapons. Feeling the threat approach, Yharim reached for his greatsword. However, his hand was greeted with empty air, which prompted him to look over where his sheath was.

He'd attached his weaponry to his armor, which'd ceumpeled away during the trip through that tunnel of light, which Yharim now attributed to some sort of warp. His gear may've been gone, but he does have magic attached to him. However, that brief moment of reflex had given the strange, bug-like enemies the time to attack. Immediately, they took up their javelins, and hurled them down!

Yharim stumbked back at the flurry of javelins, though a few of the spears' heads sliced his skin, causing him to stumble a little. Those weapons burned with radiant energy, seeming to make his wounds burn, threatening to halt his regeneration. Towards the end of the volley, he grabbed a javelin that'd impaled next to them, and swung the weapon to beat away oncoming javelins. And as he did, twin bug creatures wielding spears got about floor level and began flying towards him.

Yharim swiftly swung the length of his javelin down to catch the polearms' blades, halting them from liercing him, though he coukd feel their combined force push bim bsck a little as they tried to fight his guard. He held tight, even as the two bugs were dragging him towards tge wall of a five story house. He glanced behund him several tines, judging the distance. And then, once he was shoved close enough, he leapt up to plant his feet against the ground, before leaping off the wall to get behind the bugs, at which point he hurls one javelin into the back of one of the attackers, before lunging towards the other bug and kicking it square in the back, slamming it into the wall with enough force to smash its abdomen, its ember-colored innards decorsting the side of the wall.

With the two felled, he was tempted to pick up their weapons. However, he glanced behind him and could see more of those bugs coming towards him, one with a shining scythe, one with a sword, one with a greataxe, and one dual wielding boomerangs with ember edges. The one with boomerangs hurled the two at the sides, intending for them to intercept right at Yharim's abdomen. Yharim stamped the ground, causing bits of the stone to flick up and get the lances within grabbing distance. He quickly picked the two up, akd held them vertically to dtop the two boomerangs, them both clanging against the shafts of those lances.

The one with the sword was closest, at which Yharim flung the one in his left hand to catch the swinging blade. Then, he swung the one in his right hand to smack the bug with the butt of the spear, causing it to stumbke back. He theb rearranged the spears with intent of stabbing that bug with both of them. However, the scythe wielding bug got in close, forcing him to catch the shaft of the scythe with the shaft of his spear.

As he blocked, he had to stretch his arm far out, for the blade of the weapon stretched beyond his defenses and threatened to dig into either his shoulder, head, or chest. The bug kept on pushing, tgreatening to stab the blade into Yharim, forcing the tyrant to bring up his other lance to try and push the weapon away. Unfortunately, in came the axe-wielder, who, with a spin, swung the had into Yharim's abdomen, immediately beginning to sweep him off his feet. He completed the swing, driving Yharim through the building and out the ither hmend, crewting a large hole in the building.

With a pained grunt, Yharim tumbled through, before landing in a heap before a building nust through the hole. He grit his teeth and grasped st his abdomen. His stomach now bore a gnarly wound, blood pouring from it, and he could feel the painful burn all those weapons seemed to bear. The strike seemed to knock his lances out of his hands, so he struggled up onto his feet, which was painful given the gash across his stomach. He spat out his pain as he struggled to his feet, and felt his vision bkur from the pain. As he struggled up, he could vaguely see the shape of the sword-wielding bug, who seemed to be followed up by the scythe-wielder.

He blinked his vision back into focus, just in time to see the sword-wieldwr about to swing upon him. With a sharp gasp, he swung a hand from his abdomen, and swung at the bug as if he were throwing an iron ball. This conjured forth a magic missile, which struck the bug right in the head, disorienting them. When they got closer, Yharim wrapped both arms around the bug, before beginning to spin around and build whatever momentum he could. Before the scythe-wielder coukd strike him, he held the caught bug by the ankles, before hammer-swinging him straight into the foe's abdomen, causing both bugs to splatter apart in ember-colored gore.

Yharim quickly bent down to scoop uo the left over scythe. He woukd've held onto the sword in addition, but his equipment ppack was left with his armor. For now, though, he'd have to hope that this weapon would aid him. He glanced to the side, just in time to see the axe-wielder coming in, about to deliver an overhead smash. Yharim rolled fkrwards to evade the chop, while using the momentum to make sure he pickd up the discarded weapon. He snaps to his feet, before suddenly turning around, putting as much force into the scythe as possible, with intent to chop the blade right into the bug.

The axe-wielder had enough time to bring up its weapon to block the strike, though they were only barely able to hold onto their weapon and were oushed back a few feet. Yharim held the scythe wearily, clearly not too used to this thing. There was a strange weight to the other end, whereas there was something more uniform in terms of weight for the sword. It felt like he was wielding a tool woth a constantly shifting weight to it, it remarkably unpredictable to wield.

However, he couldn't contemplate for long as he began to hear the whirl of blades in the air. He looked to the source in time to see a pair of oncoming boomerangs, prompting him to duck under them. The axe-wielder came with a jump and intended to slam his axehead on Yharim. The tyrant was able to swerve to the side, the axehead striking the ground and leaving cracks of an ember color on the surface. Yharim was about to swing the scythe, when he heard the whirling againm

He instead stood before the bug, taking a few restorative breaths while the creature beought his weapon up and on his shoulder. The bug, predictably, ran up with the intention of attacking him. However, Yharim sidestepped at just the right moment gor those boomerangs to return. Then, like a knife theough warm butter, theybslid across his abdomen and chest before returning to the thrower. Yharim decided to finish the fatally wounded soldier by shoving the head of the scythe under him, before chopping upwards, bisecting the axe-wielder.

Yharim turned towards the boomerang wielder, only to see more spear wielders come down to its sides, a line of bowmen behind the group. Yharim hoisted the scythe up defensively and glanced around at the oncoming enemies. He narrows his eyes, and begins to think he might be outnumbered. He glanced from one side to the other to size up the enemy, trying to judge what he'd encountered already.

The bowmen drew arrows the same color as their dark, chitinous flesh before they cocked them upon their bows. They drew the arrows, and the dark arrows suddenly glew to life with that painful light. Then, they fired them, the arrows slipoing past the oncoming lance wielders and heading towards Yharim. He sidestepped, though felt one of the arrow heads scar his cheek, tbat burning sensation once again igniting. He was about to reach up and shield his burning cheek, though the sound of more incoming arrows alerted him.

He ducked under more of the arrows, before lifting a foot and slamming it down, shaking the stone beneath him and causing a rock wall to shoot up to block the oncoming arrows and lance wielders. He hoisted the scythe up to prop its shaft over his shoulder, before turning and running away. He looked up over his shoulder and could see the cloud of bugs fluttering cliser and closer towards him.

"I swear I recogbize this planet," Yharim remarked to himself. "There should be soldiers here, why is no one fighting back?" He was running between the building alleys, each seemingly haphazardly formed. The structures had grown straight from the planet, and were seemingly capable of coming from anywhere. The residents were able to adapt to the changes. It was merely a common feature to the common citizen, but proved annoying to a maman with bruning wounds that was running for his life.

As he moved, he could hear more of thkse javelins stabbing into the stone behind him. He could hear the flutter of wings as more of those assailants neared him! He oeered behind him to see a pair of sword-wielding warriors flying after him. While walking, he hekd the scythe perpendicular to his body, before swiftly pivoting to slash through the bugs. He cleaved one in half, though the other swung its sword up such that the blade of the scythe glided across it, kicking up some sparks. Yharim'd swung hinself with enough force to spin 360 degrees, and thus continued on running.

He kept on running, and could still hear javelins impale in the ground behind him. He glanced overhead and could see that cloud of bugs begin to overtake him. A few of the bugs then swung down, if a similar composition to the grouo he fought before, sans boomerang guy. They were forming a line in front of him, intent on cutting him off. He held the scythe carefully, preparing to strike them the moment they get too close.

However, as he ran, he was struck in the shoulderblade by one of thebug archers from behind! The burning sensation immediately caused him to stumble forth and drop his guard, a loud grunt leaving him. As he did, one of the sword wielders in front of him swung in close and slashed across his abdomen, ushering more blood. Then, a scythe wielder came in close and, rather than swing, it snagged Yharim with the hook of its weapon, before suddenly hurling him into the sky.

With him up in the air, one of the bugs flew low, sparkles of radiant light shimmering around its arms as it keeps an eye on the airborne tyrant. The lights pool into their hands, before they smash both palms together, forming a clean sphere of light. Then, they hurled the ball through the air. Yharim was descended right towards the ball's path, before the ball slammed into his side, and exploded into a blinding light that repelled Yharim tons of feet away!

Yharim tumbled through the air, his scythe hurled from his hands from the impact of the blow. He tumbled and tumbled, before slamming upon the roof of one of the buildings, a big indent forming in the roof as he flops over towards the edge of the building. His vision blacked out for a moment upon impact, and his breath became labored. He blinked his eyes a bit to try and look up, onky for the vague color of embers to fill his view.

The cloud was coming in closer and closer, keeping their weapons drawn. As they did, though, the elder in the cloak had arrived back on the scene. Fresh blood was on him as soul energy pooled around him, flowing into his core. Then, he lifted his staff, the souks traveling from his core, up his arm, and to the tip of his staff. They pooled around the spikes lining the top, and he aimed at the cloud of bugs. Then, the light of soul seemed to blink to life at the tip of the staff.

Then, a thick beam of pure energy flew from the staff and out towards the cloud. Forwards, forwards it flew, it radiating with a light blue energy as itngot closer and closer. Upon getting close enough, the beam split apart into several separate beams that bore into several bugs. Many were impaled through their chest. Many went stiff as they were impaled, and began to fall as gravity took them. Upon striking, many of the bugs retreated, evading the killer blow.

As they did, several individuals dressed in Hallowed Armor climbed upon the building Yharim was hurled towards. They got around him, and began to take him up. Now, Yharim's vision was clearer, and he could see the world around him. Including these warriors. He was immediately confused as they began to move him throw the city. He felt like asking what was going on, now that he was finally surrounded by people. But he was tired, unwilling to speak up, opting to conserve his strength.

They ran and ran while that ekder was casting magic missiles at stragglers, though he was also retreating. Eventually, they made it out of the city, and Yharim glanced back to see where he's going. He could then see a vehicle with a long, thick body, and a pair of wings soread out perpendicular to the main body. The whole thing had a golden sheen, and he could see some engines fit under the body snd the wings. It reminded him of a project he had Draedon work on.

Yharim was loaded in through a drawbridge-like door. In they went, where Yharim saw many containers strewn about the current room. They went through another door within and into a hallway with twi doors lined on either side. Yharim was put into a door with a red cross on it, and set on some gurney with many restorative items nearby. With him set down, the hallowed warriors backed away.

They'd left the room Yharim was set in before he could even speak. He tried to prop himself uo, but grunted in pain, before laying back. He sighed. He could feel the aura of the room suture his wounds up, but it was a slow pace, possibly made slower by the burning sensation. He looked around at the healing supplies. He blinked more, and soon realized they were sealed up behind locked cases. Yharim only grew more and more confused.

Eventually, he heard the door open. He looked towards it, and saw that elder from before. On closer inspection, he realized thag the "robes" he saw were merely ratty clothes with loose metal armor hanging from his main body, while thick locks of gray hair exte ded from his scalp down to his ankles, forming an almost robe-shaoe around the elder. Each other step of his was accompanied by the heavy metal clack or his staff upon the ground.

"Who... what is this place...?" Yharim asked. "Why and how are you controlling my soldiers? How did you steal Draedon's transportation ship and make it operatable?"

"There is much to explain," the elder said.

"I haven't much to do right now," Yharim pointed out.

"I realize," the elder said. "I'm just trying to discern where to start..." He seemed to stroke his chin, thiugh his face was hidden behind the hair. "Firstly, you're far, far from home. And I don't just mean spacial-wise."

"Are you... suggesting time travel?" Yharim asked.

"Correct," the elder said. "I've become a magic master after my strength faded, though it still required a lot of work on my end to bring you from the past. I needed you, because there are few soldiers alive that can stand a chance against the 'Embers of the God', as their God describes them."

"'God'?" Yharim repeated. "'Embers of the God'? Do you refer to those bugs?"

"Aye. They are warriors freshly constructed from the God's magic and specifically designed to slash through your defenses."

"What? I just got here, why would they prepare to kill me off?"

"Because they're not preparing to kill you," the elder answered. He propepd the stafg against a wall, before lifting his greaves-covered hands up to his face, where he hooked his fingers into his hair. And then, he spread the hair away, leading to Yharim's eyes widening with confusion as he found himself looking on his own face, albeit aged. "...I am the Fallen Tyrant. And my kingdom's crumbled to pieces ever since Terraria fell..."

### Chapter 2: A King to a God

Years ago, my kingdom stood tall. We were shaken by a few losses, but we were determined to keep on fighting. After all, we had the advantage, didn't we? We always won in the end. However, the atmosphere went sour once the Sentinels of the Devourer vanished one day. The Devourer of Gods tried to bring them to it, but they refused to respond. Somehow, it couldn't even track them. We would've diverted attention to it, but we still needed to find Xeroc's soul. At least, that was the goal until she appeared.

The one called Providence shone in the sky like a mighty monarch, her light turning the atmosphere from blue to a fiery orange. She bore wings of fire, she seemed comprised of gnarled roots of stone that coiled around a colorless gem, appearing to have a horned head with pin-prick eyes, and a shoulder on either side of her chest, said shoulders bearing sharp gems jutting from her. I had the Devourer come to me to challenge the goddess. The elite positioned themselves upon the crown of the tower to have a good view of the Devourer's battle before it challenged her. However, Draedon spoke up.

"Sir. My readings indicate a massive power level from her," Draedon told us. "Somehow, even greater than when she fought us first."

"Impossible," I said. "She must've been in hibernation for shorter than when she first challenged us! Are you sure your readings are correct?"

"I'm reading the radiation in the air," Draedon said. "There's significantly higher energy in the environment." I mulled over this information and paced around.

"Devourer will be our first attacker," I said. "After that, Calamitas will wear her down following the Devourer's devastating charge. Then I'll take Yharon into battle to hopefully finish her off."

"Understood, sir," the Devourer said.

"Now, charge!" I declared. With that, the Devourer reared back, before suddenly lunging through the air and towards the monarch. The elite each stood near the edge and looked on as the Devourer approached, and they each could imagine the creature was snarling expletives or taunts at the goddess. It was predictable like that. They watched and watched as the beast snaked through the air, seeming to try and appear as if it were attacking from odd angles. It felt agonizingly long watching the worm approach her. I didn't know why it didn't warp, maybe it intended to keep her attention on it, maybe it felt it didn't need it. Either way, it led to a long, long wait for the Devourer to approach. At least, it would've...

"I'm sensing a spike in energy output," Draedon suddenly said. Curious, I looked towards the goddess. At that moment, I could see a slight glow in Providence's crystal, it glowing more and more. I narrowed my eyes and began to step forwards to get a better look at it.

"How bad does it look?" I asked. Draedon paused to analyze.

"...It's... off the charts..." they answered. I wanted to ask them how high their charts went so as to know how bad this looked. However, faster than I could, a ring akin to the bellow of a bell rang out, seeming to fill the atmosphere itself. The noise radiated from Providence herself, and now her crystal was glowing with the might of a star. We each stepped forwards, and I could feel tension come from each of us. Providence seemed to contort her being such that we could still see her face, but her crystal was aiming at the Devourer.

As she aimed, I could see the fiery atmosphere filling our world retreat towards her, as though some energy had sucked the output straight towards her. It bunched up into a single patch of light around the goddess and made her appear as a silhouette against the sky. Then, there was that twinkle... that horrible... haunting twinkle. A light brighter than any other flashed from her crystal faster than a blink, but that wasn't what was memorable. No, it was merely a harbinger...

When the blink faded, a beam of pure whiteness the size of an island shot out from the crystal and towards the Devourer. It slammed into the beast and we could see it strain against it. The two unstoppable forces fought with each other, until the worm gave out let the beam drag it to the surface. We heard the mighty slam as the beam struck Terraria. That bang felt as if someone struck the planet itself with a gavel the size of the moon. However, light travels faster than sound, which meant we then saw the dome of light radiate from the point of impact. The dome expanded outwards, and as we saw it expand towards us, we'd then hear that slamming noise, giving the dome the appearance of a rushing train as it traveled along the surface.

We each watched, and I couldn't tell whether it was because we were stunned by the attack itself, or whether we were waiting to see the Devourer get up from the attack and strike Providence back. A few of us realized what was approaching, and we'd see as it scorched the lands it traveled across, evaporated the oceans it swallowed, and tore apart whatever civilizations were between us and it. The Slime God was the first to retreat, followed by Draedon, and then Calamitas. Then, I myself felt I had to flee, so I turned and ran deeper into the castle, Yharon following after me.

We ran into the castle to the tune of Armageddon tearing through the planet and towards us. We didn't immediately know where we'd go, but we knew we couldn't be out there. I'd gone down and seen that the Slime God had used their power to teleport, presumably far from the castle. Calamitas turned towards me.

"Sir, what do we do?!" she asked.

"Chin up! Show no fear to this beast's attack!" I snapped. However, soon after that the castle rocked, as if physically punched by the dome of pure energy. I'd swear I even heard a few pieces of the building fall apart as we braced ourselves from the shaking. And then, we felt the heat. It was an unholy heat, or... given the source, it might've been the holiest of heats. It was a burn that was beyond compare to anything anyone in that room had experienced. I heard the sound of metal flopping, and looked over towards Draedon, who'd collapsed onto the ground. "Draedon?"

"R-r-r-radiation..." Draedon said. "Th-there's radiation... m-m-my technology f-f-failing..." My machine ally gave off a few sparks, and I could swear I could see them begin to melt. "Fail-fail-fail-fail... Th-the ship... Protected from radiation... b-b-best chance..." I began to approach the inventor. "T-too late for me..."

"If you're left here, everything you came to learn will be lost," I said.

"N-no use in hand-hand-hands of dead-the dead..." Draedon said. "Mo-mov-move..." Hearing that, I heard the sound of Calamitas' feet as she ran. I glanced back at Draedon, before sighing. I began to move. Though, as I did, my armor started to feel hotter and heavier. I'd expected the extra heat, but what of this added weight? I chugged through, feeling like I was trying to wade through water as I walked in this armor. And as I did, I began to hypothesize what was happening...

Each step felt like a workout as I went through the door. I glanced down the hall, and could see multiple soldiers fallen, seemingly struck dead by the radiation either immediately or faster than the rest of us. I looked ahead, and now saw Calamitas was struggling as she went through a hall. I walked and walked, arriving at the hallway Calamitas went, and I could hear Yharon stamping behind me. He wasn't rushing ahead, he was staying by my side. I could practically feel his breath beat down on my back as I shambled forwards. I looked through one of the windows in the hall, and could see Providence's beam still boring into the planet. And then, I saw another twinkle.

I tried to speed up, but I could see another swell of energy pump down the beam and bang into the planet, sending forth another of those energy domes, it seeming to push the radiation already around it ahead. I tried to up my pace, but all that accomplished was me having to drag my feet. I was sweating buckets, and each step felt like I was fighting a miniature war. I soon crossed through the other side of the hallway, when the next dome of energy struck my castle, once more rocking me. This time, I was unable to stay my ground, and felt myself fall onto a knee, being forced to use my arms to keep myself propped up.

I was panting and wheezing, and I felt my heart racing. I swear my armor was starting to cook me alive! Meanwhile, I heard Yharon let out a wail as the dragon fell onto his belly. He was panting, but I couldn't look over at him. I was locked in this kneeling pose. I tried to rise up to my feet, but I couldn't lift the armor on my back. I tried to lift one of my arms, but my gauntlets felt 10 times heavier than before. Even my helm stopped me from lifting my head.

"W... Why...?" I moaned out. "Why can't I move... Why now?!" I would've punched the ground in frustration, but my gauntlet refused to raise so much as an inch from the ground. "WHY?!" I could feel my heart racing and my adrenaline was pumping. But it wasn't a fight-adrenaline, it was a "get out of here"-adrenaline. I shook, no shivered. I was furious and... worried? It had been so long, I'd almost forgotten that feeling in that moment: fear. I was afraid. I even felt myself jump with a start when Yharon's snout bumped into my side.

I felt my dragon crane his beak beneath my arm, before he began to lift me up. I began to feel him wrap his claws around me, before lifting me up. He stood on his hind legs and held me aloft, before continuing to walk. Our connection seemed to let him know where I needed to go, for he began to march in that direction. Yet I could feel even his strength wane. We walked and walked. As we did, many feet past my falling, I saw Calamitas' body laid out across the floor, her constitution clearly spent. The dragon kept walking past her, and deeper into the castle, which I swear was beginning to melt around us.

It was a long walk, and Yharon was slumping forwards more and more. This was clearly taxing on my only ally in this endeavor. Soon, we arrived at Draedon's laboratory, where many of his inventions laid. He kept documents here, but surely they were burned up by now. The dragon marched me towards a corner of the laboratory, where *it* was, *the* spaceship. It was made with the intent of having Draedon develop an AI that'd go around on it to fight galactic threats should we ever need to be rid of the Devourer. It seems that Draedon anticipated encountering space radiation, so they'd designed the hull to withstand the electronic-ruining energy.

Yharon had bumped the rear of the ship, which deployed the hull within. Yharon clamored in, and by now I could tell that my friend was practically on death's doorstep. The door closed behind us, and the dragon fell down, releasing me and leaving me to tumble along the ship's ground. And as I laid there, I couldn't help but feel a cold shiver run through my spine as I was thrust from the blistering heat to a coldness comparable only to space. Remarkable... my journey started with me stewing in a lake of fire to be saved by my dragon. And now, my Terraria conquest ended bathed in fire to be saved by my dragon. But to hell with that, I would strike down that foul monarch.

But first, I strained against the armor some more. I was still unable to lift it all, which only made me think my earlier fears were true. I reached for a special set of switches within the armor, these switches activating a manual system like a lever pulling a door. The back of my armor opened up, my back, thighs, and arms exposed to the cold air of the inside of the ship. IVs were hooked into me, these feeding a powerful drug into my system to make sure I could maintain my strength. But surely, the radiation shut down that system, meaning that I wouldn't be fed my supplements anymore.

I reached up out of the armor and felt around on the ground underneath. I propped myself up on it and began to pull myself. I felt the IVs strain as I lifted more and more... before a terrible pop signaled them yanking out of my body. I could feel the blood pour from me, and I could feel the steam of my burning body meeting the cool air. I stood up, and stumbled forwards, limping through the ship's interior and towards the driving apparatus. I arrived there, and saw the console, an emoticon upon it.

"Identifying: Yharim," a robotic voice said. "Greetings: Leader. Provide a command." I looked at the monitor, and decided on what I wanted.

"Take us to orbit, pronto," I ordered.

"Action: Accepted. Take Off: Pronto." With that, the monitor blinked to black. I felt the ship shake, before taking off to the sky. I felt the g-force beat down on me, at which point I just chose to let it whip me to the ground. I panted and panted as we rose more and more to the air. More... more... more... Eventually, it stopped. "Destination: Reached." With that, I propped myself up, and began climbing up onto my feet. I glanced around for windows, before spying one that pointed out to approximately where Providence attacked from. I looked out through the window and tried to find where that wench was. And yet...

"Where...?" I asked. I looked around the area. No one. She's not there... She's not anywhere... She just came down and blasted the planet. From up here, the planet I'd spent my 2000 years on was no longer the green and blue marble I sought to better. I saw only a charcoal stone incapable of sustaining life. Even in fleeing, I doubt the Slime God would've fled destruction. The Devourer was hit point blank, so it was definitely as good as dead. And everyone else... The ship was empty when we found it, and I'd known only two people, myself and Yharim, that lasted long against the radiation. Every other subordinate must've been wiped out...

I would've struck the window, but in that moment, I couldn't even muster forth anger. I was hit with the force of pure divinity for what felt like hours. I wanted to bellow out my frustration, to curse out that damnable goddess. But right now, I was just tired. My eyelids were getting heavy. I leaned back, and fell onto my back, letting exhaustion take its hold on me.

After that, the ship brought me over to a new planet of loyalists. They set up a castle that wasn't nearly as immaculate as my old one. Then again, at the time I couldn't ask much else. I thought to have some of the soldiers there investigate my armor, but upon approaching it was discovered that the divine energy was still radiating off of it, not only indicating that the radiation might've been permanent, but also that approaching it meant death. So, my armor was buried inside that planet. In the meantime, I wore the armor of Champions, and took the throne.

I'd been organizing the soldiers to collect material and gather resources to hopefully mount an offensive on Providence. The plan was, once gathering god-slaying weaponry, to find a way to track her down and make her pay for what she's done to Yharon and my entire life's work. I reached out to other planets Dreadon and the Devourer had seen to the conquest of, hoping that they'd be able to assist me. The lines've been cold for a long, long time. One day I tried to contact an allied planet, only to get radio silence. Not even a tone indicating we failed contact, just that whatever contact was previously set on them was seemingly gone. Then more went silent.

Eventually, a red streak flew through space. We'd previously thought it a shooting star. However, it seemed to fly in odd angles, as if flying of its own accord. It seemed to hover above the castle. It stayed in place, and at the time none of us had sufficient gear to strike it down. Someone suggested using the ship to go up to it, but whatever it was, we didn't wish to risk lives getting too close to it. We proposed that it might be a challenge, and realized we had to approach if we were to find out what this flying creature was. So, I organized the warriors on the planet to come in on the castle.

Soon, we were at my throne room, myself positioned at the throne with my sword ready. It felt heavier than normal, but it was the blade I always considered old reliable. My soldiers had their own weaponry drawn, and prepared for attack. We waited in the throne room. And waited. And waited. And waited... It felt like an eternity of waiting, but we all realized that if we lowered our guard, we may risk destruction. Eventually, the flying creature overhead stopped flying in circles, and instead hovered in place, glowing bright red. And then, just as suddenly as it stopped, it suddenly bolted down, shattering through the roof and stopping at the floor of the throne room, the g-force producing a shockwave throughout the throne room akin to a mighty squall, it shoving a few of us onto our back. I stood tall, my cape flapping in the wind as we attempted to study the source.

The creature was hunched over as a result of flying in, and soon after the g-force stopped, they rose up to a standing position, though they hovered slightly above the ground. They probably stood only an inch shorter than me, though they bore a set of anntanae a foot tall. They bore chitinous flesh with orange highlights and radiant orange wings akin to a moth's. They also had a scruff of moth fur arranged around their torso like some sort of scarf. Their legs ended in dagger sharp feet, they bkre black arms with fingers akin to knives, and they had two sheathed swords on either hip. They bore glowing orange eyes and a smug grin that I immediately wanted to smash. Meanwhile, they radiated with an aura akin to that burning sensation I felt on Terraria, though greatly subdued.

The invader descended to the ground and casually stretched their arms overhead.

"N-nnnnnnng... ah," they muttered as they finished stretching. "Man, lemme tell you, Yharim, it's been really hard finding you. I was used to searching for the biggest building in the galaxy."

"...So you've heard of me?" I asked while clutching the handle of my sword.

"Oh more than that, buddy!" the creature said with an unnervingly calm tone. They sounded less like a dignified lord and more like some surfer jock, though with a gutteral growl akin to a beast. "We exchanged blows you and I! Remember? I approached you, you struck me unprompted like a coward, I still lived to tell the day?"

"...I don't know who you are, but you're far from the first vengeful soul I had to put down."

"Oh-ho, don't go slumming me with any nobody mortal! I'm sure you can feel my divinity flowing through the halls!"

"Who...? Where did this divinity come from? Providence is resting right now!"

"Oh you think Providence is the only one capable of this?" The invader laughed. "I gave my friend a sun-sized pick me up, and she had to go and splurge it all on that cesspool you called home!"

"What-?! You orchestrtaed that attack?!" Once more the invader laughed.

"Hell yeah! And lemme tell you, seeing the fruits of my labor come to fruition like that... Man I'm still high. Little envoy me achieving the power of Xeroc himself? Who woulda thought!"

"...Firefly?" I held my sword tighter, and the rest of the guard looked ready to strike when needed. "How did you-?"

"Oh let's just say a certain lunatic was enough for that!" Firefly said, interrupting me. "I wanted to see a man who's sacrificed everyone else for a goal that he could never achieve!" That bug ket out a bout of laughter. I motioned my head towards the soldiers, who began closing in towards him. "And speaking of poetic justice... There's the natter of what happens to you now."

"What about me?" I asked.

"I'll be honest, I thought I'd be satisfied with seeing you cooked alive on that world, but I'll be honest, I couldn't help but feel regret when Providence attacked," he explained while pacing around. "I feared that you, perpetrator of mortal kind's downfall, would've been killed off a little too fast. As the True God right now, I felt that you deserved to go through your own personal Hell before you die off. So, while hunting you down, I've been thinking on what would be best to kill you off. I could probably feed more energy into Providence and have her kill you off, but that'd bee far too quick..." As he spoke I glanced over towards a soldier wielding a sword. They nodded, and began approaching the invader. "I could probably have my newly made Angels invade and stamp your little town, but no, then you couldn't know how much better I'm doing than you. No, I want you to curse the life you've led. I want you to know your end is nigh. And I want you to keep on running. So I eventually settled on something I knew you'd run from."

At that, Firefly looked up through the hole he made in the dome, and I couldn't help but gaze up myself. Up there was a planet, several light years away but still very visible. In that moment, we could each feel slight tension wash over everyone in the room, though only for a few seconds. We watched and watched for what felt like ages, before a flash of orange raced through the sky and slammed into the planet, several chunks jettisoning outwards and obscuring what struck it. I heard gasps fill the room as specks of planet hovered in space, a cloud of orange racing out and coiling around pieces of the planet to move them around.

"What... What was that?" I asked. "A meteor? Some other celestial event? Or... even magic?"

"Nay, my friend," Firefly answered. "I went for something more pedestrian and familiar, something that I know that when you see it, you know to run." We kept on watching as the space dust cleared, slowly revealing what was the streak of orange. It had a structure shaped like a handle, it red with a purple ring just before a... blade guard? And beyond that was a sword with a red start and tip, a thin red line connecting the two while purple covered the rest of the body.

"A... a sword?" I asked.

"Bingo, friend!" Firefly declared. "That there is the tool of the galaxy's destruction! A blade befitting of the true god, a single swing capable of shaping the cosmos as I see fit! Forged by a planet of metal and a sun of my own creation, tenderly cared for by my dear Angels! Yharim, I present to you, the Xeroc Greatersword!" I grit my teeth and began to draw my sword while taking a step forwards. "Oh don't you even think of trying anything! Remember who stands before you. Just as your friend here will in his final moments."

"Huh?" I pondered. I looked down towards the soldier, who was apparently too stunned by the appearance of the so called Greatersword. However, at Firefly's word, I saw him stirred back to attention. He let out a few coughs, before he started to clutch at his chest, blood dripping down his chin. He stumbled forwards, as his coughing started to get more and more violent. He looked towards Firefly, who still had his back turned towards him. Except, now we could spy, in the bug's hand, a heart that was slowly beating slower and slower. The soldier fell onto his knees while coughing louder and louder. However, his coughing would soon cease as he flopped down onto his chest, dead.

"Do with your final moments what you wish," Firefly said. "Just know that one day, they will catch up to you." With that, he spread his wings, before flapping, hurling himself from the floor and up through the opening, leaving behind an orange streak as he flew. The ring of soldiers converged and looked up as the bug flew off in the direction of the giant sword that'd shattered a nearby planet.

"Lord! What do we do?!" one of the soldiers asked me.

"We haven't anti-air devices!" another barked at me. As I looked over them, I kept on thinking about how little power we have against him. Especially if he actually intends to somehow use that sword...

"We need to retreat," I said.

"What?"

"We don't have the power to take him on," I said. "Our only chance is to flee and find resources to counter him. Gather up soldiers and rush to the Vessel!"

"R...r-right away, sir," one of the soldiers said. They then split and began rushing. I, meanwhile, began heading towards the spaceship I rode onto this world from. This involved once more running through my castle as I sought out the room it was held in. As I ran, I'd glance through the windows nearby to see that beam of light on route to the massive sword. Closer and closer he flew, and despite its size, I couldn't help but think he could actually do something with that. Besides, at this point I couldn't afford to let him do whatever he wanted.

I kept on running, and I could see several warriors run in from behind me to find the ship. More and more we ran, before I myself was before the ship. There it stood.

"Step aside!" I declared as I pushed past several warriors. "The ship cannot leave without my command!" More and more I pushed, forcing myself into the ramp and up to the AI that controlled the ship. And as I moved, other soldiers operated devices to open up the room so that the ship may leave. I entered and would see several soldiers dotting the innards of the Vessel as I walked up to the AI.

"Identifying: Yharim," the voice said. "Greetings: Leader. Provide a command."

"Relay current capacity and max capacity," I said.

"Display: Current capacity," it said, before the monitor showed "178", before the number is replaced with an ever climbing number. "Display: Max capacity." Then, next to the first number came "1000". More and more the number climbed, and I looked towards the windows of the ship to see the view of space, Firefly getting closer and closer to the sword. We were running out of time... That number climbed past 400, and by now, Yharim seemed to make it to the handle of the sword. The trail stopped racing, and was now catching up to the invader as he stopped before the handle, which must've been large enough to accommodate him ten times. As he stayed there, I could see the entire sword turn, before making a grand sweeping motion across space and in our direction. The sword flew over our atmosphere, and winds of speeds previously undocumented blew across the nation, them strong enough to ravage many of our walls and hurl many soldiers miles away, or some into paste as they smashed against the walls. The ship shook, but this particular room was built to last, though we could feel its foundations shake. The current count was beginning to read "534".

"Shut the doors," Yharim said. "Then, take off as far away from that celestial body as possible."

"Action: Closing off," the AI said. I could hear panicked screams ring out as the ramp shut. I imagine a few leapt up to climb in as it closed, and as I'd learn later, one of them were bisected by the shutting door. The final current count read "647". "Action: Lifting off. Action: Calculating course." I could feel the ship lift off as the engines roared with power. I could feel it orient itself, before rushing forth. As it flew, I look towards a rear window to gaze at the planet as the roughly planet-sized sword rose over what must've been Firefly's head. Then, the sword swung downwards like a chugging train, it slow and calculated as it approached the planet I'd tried to accept as home. The blade smashed down, and I watched this world splinter apart into tiny chunks as the blade smashed it into pieces. The further we flew, the further the planet looked more and more like space dust...

"After that, we've been running from planet to planet for years," the fallen tyrant said. Yharim had finally revitalized in the clinic area, though he still held scars from the special weapons. The two were in the fallen tyrant's personal quarters, and Yharim was swapping his old, ratty clothes for something more comfortable. "Without my old technology, my body aged more and more. I've been less and less able to lift my sword. I've been looking into magic, and expanding it to make up for my lessened strength. I eventually decided that I alone wouldn't have the strength to take him on. So, we went to a planet unaffiliated with my soldiers, I utilized their souls to expand my magical reach, and brought you here."

"None of this makes sense, how did everything go so wrong so fast?" Yharim asked as he searched through the clothing.

"I wish I knew," the fallen tyrant said. "One day a bunch of resistance people made things harder for my soldiers. Then, apparently, Firefly's worked with Providence and someone else in the shadows. And as a result, they singlehandedly wiped out my base of operations, and have put me on the run."

"And all the while he's been constructing these enemies that've been able to circumvent regeneration. It seems like he's been plotting a lot to get you yourself killed."

"It seems I'm only one last loose end for him," the old tyrant clarified. "He's grown disgusted in the rest of the galaxy, and says that he'll have to wipe the slate clean to create what he feels is a better realm."

"And right now you're standing between him and that," Yharim said.

"**We're** standing between him and that," the old tyrant said. "It'll take a lot of technology to get us on his level, but right now, if there's any chance of restoring my home, we need each other." Yharim took in the information, and mulled it over. As far as this man has told him, Yharim exists in a gross parody of his own home. That dumb bug's claimed his life's work, everyone he's worked with is dead, and his home is gone. And now this other him, this weak and feeble him, has dragged him off to this new place. And yet, if what the old Yharim says is true, then that means there's a definitive location of the God's soul. He takes it, then his efforts back home will be finished. For now, this might actually be his best chance of victory. Besides, this old man wasn't going to take him home anytime soon.

"I suppose we shall, then," Yharim said as he finally settled on some clothing. Beige pants and a red shirt. *Have I really become so formal?* he remarked to himself.

### Chapter 3: Uncharted Lands

Meanwhile, far off towards the scorched world that was Terraria was what appeared to be a freshly made planetoid. Embedded into a piece of it is what appears to be a massive forge, it shaped like an observatory tower as beams of energy from the sun bleed into it to mold weaponry. Within the forge are several bugs, akin to the ones that struck the Yharim from the past, lining up to pick up whatever weapon's been forged.

Elsewhere on the planet is a cone-shaped tower, it having an open top that lets beams of magical energy flow through. And within it was a man in blue robes with gold highlights, him wearing an ivory mask with a beak-like nose. He stood over a rune circle, circular pits in it showing pools of some magical substance bubbling. This was the Lunatic Cultist, a warrior who'd turn out to be instrumental in Firefly's ascension back in the past. The Cultist was sending forth tendrils of magical energy into the pools as some of those bugs, or Angels as Firefly likes to call them, entered the tower.

One of them convulsed briefly as the sound of rushing wind pumped into them. They shook and went rigid, before sighing. Then, they looked upon the Cultist.

"Well, hello hello hello!" the bug said in a tone akin to Firefly's. "How's my up and coming God of Magic coming?"

"Progress has been slow," the Cultist said. "I'm beginning to tap into the flow of magic. I think in a little while I'll finally be able to affect the flow of it. And then, only those our pantheon decides can wield magic."

"Yes yes, fine theory, really fine," the bug serving as Firefly's mouthpiece said. "However, there's a teenie-weenie-shmeenie issue with your slowness... Yharim's already done something big!"

"W-what?"

"My ascension has given me awareness of the fabric of reality. Well, an army of my Angels had tracked Yharim down to a planet, where I could detect a tear in the fabric of space and time. I peeked through one of my Angels at a time, and was treated to a sight of a warrior unlike anything we've seen. Yharim had somehow garnered the magical prowess to reach out beyond the confines of our current reality to summon up a being that might be able to stand up to divinity."

"Unbelievable. The strength to reach through space and time at once?"

"Frightening, isn't it? And if he was able to summon up some unarmed brawler that could split one of my Angels in half, who knows what else he can pull from thin air?"

"A spell of that caliber sounds like it'd require a lot of mana. Odds are if he's done it recently, he's got a lot of gathering to do in order to do anything like that again."

"Hopefully enough time for you to finish this project up!" As he spoke, the angel motioned towards the magic circle. "The moment we get this up is the moment Yharim's as good as defenseless. At that point, we can just enjoy his final moments spent whimpering like a helpless animal..."

"Oh worry not, my friend," the Cultist said. "If my calculations are correct, then either my personal 'ascension' or Yharim's death will occur before he gets the chance to pull another trick."

"Please don't disappoint me. I can't afford much more rogue factors in my galaxy correction plan," the Angel said.

"But of course," the Cultist said. With that, the Angel nodded, before convulsing as the consciousness of Firefly left them. With that, the Angels nodded, before turning around and leaving the tower. And at that, the Cultist groaned out and sighed. *Damn it... Firefly's working to kill off any mortal tainted by the absence of Xeroc. He could probably go about attacking planets willy-nilly and erase the current age from history before he summons up that God. I don't doubt that he'd kill me even if I were to achieve godhood. I can only hope either that Yharim keeps him distracted enough for him to never finish his plans, or that my ascension will truly save me.*

Elsewhere, the two Yharims were in the ship flying off into space.

"How is the armory situation looking," the Yharim from the past asked.

"We were able to get a few pieces from the bugs thanks to your efforts upon arrival," the Yharim of the present answered.

"And armor?"

"None. For some reason, the bugs' exoskeleton becomes as brittle as branches when life stops coursing through them."

"Then we require metals."

"Indeed. A planet should be nearby. It's colonized, and supposedly we may be able to garner metals from them through negotiation."

"Surely we can organize our units to tear that land down."

"Unfortunately, we're limited in capable destroyers," the fallen tyrant noted. "Those capable of massive damage are currently 5 feet away."

"...None of the current soldiers?"

"Merely ordinary people. We may possess a lot of power between us, but a planet of ants is still a planet-sized army."

"Perhaps..." After he talked, the duo could see a planet arrive in sight. From the ship, they'd see a planet with a gray surface and green waters. The surface seemed to have various metal structures on it, however, in addition, the landmass seemed to've molded in accordance to the liquid around it, forming a series of ridges and caves. The ship began to lower upon the surface, before landing upon a patch of clean rock.

"We'll be getting off here," the fallen tyrant said. "I'll do the talking, you stand as my body guard." Yharim may've protested under other circumstances, but right now, he was a stranger to this world. It might be best to let the future him carry out negotiations. So, he nodded. The two would then leave the ship and step out onto the surface.

"The surface smells of a mine," Yharim said.

"If I were to guess, the waterways would eat away at the rock and reveal the material within," the fallen tyrant said. "Enough talk. We must seek out either an unclaimed vein, or this planet's inhabitants." With that, the old Yharim would continue forwards, using his staff to keep himself up as he continued forwards. The other Yharim would follow behind him, a Divine Scythe slung over his back and a Divine Sword tucked in a sheath on his hip. The two kept on forwards, traveling along the rocky surface, forwards they went and towards what appeared to be a tower.

They got closer and closer, before arriving at the base of the tower, it shaped like a rectangle stretching up to the sky: a fairly basic shape lacking character. There were square holes spaced around the building, them seeming to act as windows. Surely this structure would at least bear some lifeforms within. So, they got closer and closer to the structure. Eventually, they'd get around to the front of it, where they'd see a pair of aliens, them having mantis-like limbs but standing upright like humans. They bore four legs that tapped at the ground, and a pair of sickle-like hands. They stood about a head taller than the younger Yharim.

The strange creatures looked down at them cautiously.

"We wish to request material," the older Yharim said. "We require more weaponry." The aliens glance towards each other, before taking a few steps away from each other to let the two in. And so, the mage and warrior crossed the door and entered the building. There, they'd find more of those aliens, some wearing ore tips on their claws, these seeming to try and function like pickaxes in that the ore tips would be able to cleave through the material whereas their bare claws are more for slicing. They glanced towards the strange newcomers, who went up the stairs.

Up there, they'd find a more buff-looking mantis alien, them wearing a vest with gemstones pinned to the chest as if it were some sort of badge. Clearly he seemed to be some sort of higher-up among these mantises. The duo approached them, who looked at the Yharims curiously.

"Sir, are you the owner of this operation?" the older Yharim asked.

"Yes I am," the decorated mantis said. "I haven't seen any of your kind."

"Oh you haven't?" the old Yharim asked. "I happen to be a king to an old planet. It's been destroyed, and now I've been left alone to care for the refugees. I need material to keep them safe."

"Ah, understandable," the leader mantis said. "Ever since that new god popped up, planets began vanishing from the sky. Some of us can only sit here and wait for the end to come." As he spoke, another mantis came in, their sickles wrapped around a platter with three mugs on it. The mantis set the plate on a table in the middle of the room, when the leader mantis walked over to it. "Come, I need a drink."

"Sir, we haven't time to waste," the younger Yharim said.

"This's been my only relief during these final hours," the leader mantis said. "I'm sure if I hadn't the buzz this offered, I'd have cracked by the time Firefly struck down his first few planets." With that, he slid one of his blades through the handhold of one of his mugs, before lifting it, at which he'd extend a proboscis-like tongue into the drink. As he did that, the older Yharim approached.

"You know, I haven't had a moment to relax ever since Firefly arrived at my doorstep," the old Yharim said. The younger Yharim approached him as he sat down, lingering near him. The old Yharim grabbed a mug, and drank a bit. "Nmg… Tastes like rust."

"You have to drink it a bit to feel it," the mantis leader said. The old Yharim shrugged, and drank.

"Are you sure this is a good idea," young Yharim asked.

"You can lead an army while I regret this later," the older Yharim said as he drank more. "Ok, I think I'm starting to see it..." Meanwhile, younger Yharim stood upright and seemed annoyed. The two seemed to drink more as they continued talking.

"So, my subordinates say you need material?" the leader mantis said.

"Yes. We're not so keen to keel over while Firefly destriys oyr way of life."

"You intend to stand before the planet-smashing blade?"

"I may not look it, but I'm quite powerdul, as is my sunrodinate here." As he spoke, the elder motioned towards the younger Yharim. "Still, our power requires a shiny coat of metal to potentially harm that bug. Besides, he's made things personal."

"More personal than threatening the galaxy you live in?"

"Yes. I used to rule a planet-wide kingdom, housing some of the meanest technology and warriors you'd ever see. But thanks to that god, everything I spent centuries building fell to pieces."

"Hm, I guess I understand," the mantis said. "The galaxy at large is in danger unfortunately. Firefly's voice must've reached the rest of the planets, because one day we each heard his address as he intends to wipe out all life."

"I hadn't heard these words," the elder said. The leader mantis rose a brow.

"Curious. He addressed us about our oncoming destruction. Perhaps he chose not to talk to you on account of your planet dying?" The elder would've talked about how he was specifically hunting him, but that would just lead to more questions, eventually revealing his true identity to the mantis.

"We will stop him. We just need the proper equipment."

"I believe I have equipment," the mantis said. "I have a some metal a few floors up. Allow my friend to guide you." At that, one of the mantises scamper up beside the two Yharims.

"We appreciate your cooperation," the elder said. He then stood up, and began to walk, the younger Yharim following him. They went further up the stairwell.

"This feels a little too easy," Yharim remarked quietly to the elder.

"Helps when you're a little subtle," the elder whispered back. "Just be quiet of who we are, and we'll be out of here." They kept on keeping on, the elder coughing occassionally as they did. Soon, the two were at the uppermost floor, where they'd see a vault. The mantis that accompanied them worked the lock on it, before opening it, the door creaking open. Within, they'd see several iron crates. The mantis motioned the two in, and they went in. There, the younger Yharim would open up the crate, unveiling its contents, clumps of what looked like silver.

"Marvelous," the elder remarked as he picked up one of the ores. However, hositing it up soon led to it crumbling far to easily. The material fell apart, revealing it to merely be coated in some kind of paint, as the insides reveal its true form: dirt. "What is the meaning of this?" The two Yharims turned around, just in time to see the vault door lock tightly behind them. The two began advancing, though the elder was slower. He'd cough some more, and be forced to stand still during a fit.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yharim declared.

"Did you think we wouldn't recognize Yharim when we saw him?" the mantis asked. "Firefly told us all about him and how he 'justified the end of the galaxy'. My lord suspects if we deliver him to the god, he may show us mercy."

"Th-that must be why we never heard the broadcast to the planets. He wanted us to be blindsided by angry inhabitants," the elder said between breaths after his coughing fit. Either way, Yharim would draw a divine sword, the blade glowing with divine energy. He'd then stab it into the vault door, the weapon seeming to stab through the door like a knife through warm butter. The mantis let out a grunt of pain as the blade ended up impaling him. Yharim would then try to draw the blade in a circular fashion through the door. The elder Yharim tried to get closer, but found himself coughing more and more. Eventually, Yharim would be able to cut a hole into the door, removing the lock and allowing him to push the door open.

"Those guys will probably be on high alert now, not that it'll matter," Yharim remarked. He looked over at the elder as he covered his mouth during another coughing fit. "That leader fed you something bad. A poison?"

"Likely," the elder said. "Doubt it's fatal. That mantis said they were going to offer me up. I can't feel my magic right now, we should retreat."

"Nay," Yharim said. "We came here for equipment, we'll get equipment." Yharim held the blazing sword carefully, before he lunges forwards and towards the door they were led through. The elder followed his lead, Yharim kicking the door open and heading down. "Let's blitz through these floors and find what we're looking for." The two got down a floor, when Yharim kicked open the door just below the top floor. And within, he could see a few mantises with some mining equipment laying around. They didn't seem to expect Yharim's arrival, on account of them being unarmed. They tried to go down to grab their equipment, when Yharim lunged forwards and swung his sword, managing to bisect several with a single swing.

After that, a few he hadn't managed to strike tried to rush in to swing their sickle limbs upon him, but he swung the divine blade behind them to catch their claws, which seemed to melt against the radiant light. After that, he flicked his sword backwards to bisect those ones too. Two swings, and Yharim was able to clear what few creatures were on this floor. After that, he'd take the mining equipment, before handing them off to the elder.

"These metals appear to be native to this planet," the elder remarked. After storing it, the two Yharims left the floor, and would progress to the next. And the next. And the next. There were very sparse numbers of those mantises, and they each had very few of those special pieces of equipment with the special metal. However, after a while, they would soon see the mantises rushing down the stairs. It would be clear that their escape would be a little more tricky as the rest of the tower will become alerted. The Yharims kept on racing down, still searching and collecting weapons.

Eventually, they're down about halfway through the tower, when that leader mantis was before them. The younger Yharim had the older Yharim retreat up the stairs, before he approached the mantis lord.