The Oracle Paths

Realizing that he had lost all his subordinates, the Death Knight King drew his long claymore for the first time. His steed was not a muscular black horse like the others, but a gigantic flesh-eating pegasus that bore a striking resemblance to Actalaus, the Baron of Lodunvals' ferocious mount that Jake and Ruby had fought.

The two Undead Warriors and three Undead Archmages that comprised Vhoskhaud's bodyguard until then also assumed a fighting stance.

One of the two warriors was a legendary orc as thick as a troll whose army had conquered and enslaved a quarter of the continent centuries earlier before finally being stopped.

The second was none other than the Hero who had crushed the Orc Conqueror's dreams of domination. He was a Velfal, a pale blue-skinned humanoid race with an unparalleled affinity for the Space Element.

"Beware the Velfal." Lysander warned them with a grave expression. "It can teleport anywhere, seal off space from a chosen area to prevent you from fleeing or use your Space Artifacts, and it can also stretch, compress, or tear space at will to attack, defend, speed up its movements, or slow you down."

The Myrmidians, who were rather proud of their crushing victory, immediately turned serious again, extreme vigilance on their faces. Lucia, who was commanding the battle from the rear lines also stopped posturing with her arms crossed and drew her trademark sword again.

"I'll take care of the Velsal." She claimed in a tone that did not allow for refusal.

Respecting their princess' wishes, the Myrmidians logically set their sights on the Orc Conqueror and the Death Knight King.

"Let me handle the Death Knight King." Kenway spoke for the first time since the battle began. "I am the only one with enough Life Force to take him on.

After living nearly 1,000 years, the undefeated Werelion could discern things that eluded these immature Players. If Lucia or Wyatt faced this Death Knight King, even if they won the price would be so steep that it would make their victory meaningless. On the other hand, he knew how to handle such abominations.

Before marching towards his opponent, he sent a telepathic message to his younger brother, who subtly nodded. In the end, Lucia, Wyatt and the other Myrmidians targeted the other Undead Archmages.

Now bereft of bodyguards, Vhoskaud had lost all hope of turning the tide, but his robotic face showed no sign of distress. Instead, after sneaking a peek at Shamash and Haynt's battle, he turned back to Lucia and her allies and congratulated them,

"I must admit that I underestimated you. I never thought that a bunch of Players from unknown factions would be able to wipe out my Undead army and all the clones I've made over the past few years. All my preparation to take over Laudarkvik was ruined in an instant.

"I concede you... this victory."

When the Android Lich admitted defeat, Lucia, Wyatt, Kenway, and the other observant Players sensed that something was wrong. Why did they catch a note of sarcasm in his last sentence?

Reveling in their confusion, the android smiled with satisfaction and his expression froze. The gleam in his robotic eyes flickered faintly one last time, then faded forever.

The android had chosen suicide.

The Death Knight King and the remaining Undeads were pulled back into their original dimensions, their bodies disintegrating into wisps of black smoke. The portals closed and the underground hall became quiet again.

BOOOM!

While Lucia and the others were still in a daze from the easy victory, a dazzling flash of light burst from the other end of the hall. A body as bright as a star crashed lifelessly into the center of the hall forming a huge crater, then as it exploded, its body collapsed on itself creating a mini black hole.

Shamash teleported in front of the mini black hole and with a wave of his hand made it disappear.

"Haynt... is dead?" Kenway stammered in shock. Even in his worst nightmares, this was a scenario he had never contemplated.

The bewilderment of Lucia, Wyatt and the other Myrtharian Nerds was overwhelming, but Hade, who had witnessed the entire scene, was solemn.

"Why? Why aren't you the leader?" The former Fluid Grandmaster asked with total confusion.

What he had just seen was not the power of a Fourth Ordeal Player.

At first the fight between Haynt and Shamash seemed evenly matched, but as with Lucia, the Lost Divinities officer didn't seem to take the fight seriously. He was passively returning blows for blows, but neither of the two opponents were fighting seriously.

Then the old Astral had shifted into high gear, and Shamash had... snuffed him out. Just as Hade had defeated Azeus in his Lightning state, Shamash had annihilated the Astral's existence when his brilliance was at its peak.

"Yesterday you ordered the murder of the only woman I ever loved and now you've just killed the only friend I ever had." Kenway's voice, quivering with pent up rage, suddenly thundered across the battlefield.

A freakishly dense aura radiated forth from the Alpha Werelion, while a white mane and fur covered his body. His face vaguely took on the bestial features of a lion, but the transformation was completely under his control. It was as if he had transformed into a Werelion while intentionally keeping his human shape.

"So please don't blame me if I kill you." Kenway roared, an overwhelming spiritual pressure flooring everyone on the battlefield, including Lucia and Wyatt.

Jake and the three women guarding the mansion were also affected and their expressions changed drastically.

"Who knew a Werebeing could have such a high level of Spiritual Energy..." Enya sighed admiringly.

Esya and Aisling nodded with wry smiles, but tears were also streaming down the cheeks of the Dhampir Succubus.

Haynt was like an uncle to her. His unwavering power was like a beacon in the darkness for her, the pillar of her confidence. As long as the Astral was alive, she knew she wasn't alone, that someone had her back.

Now she was truly on her own.

"You're not alone Ains, you can count on us now." Jake patted her back awkwardly, but his effort seemed to work.

In reality, he was the one who needed comforting. Haynt's death was as unexpected as it was disastrous for him. The Astral was a treasure trove of information and Jake planned to ask him for a sample of his blood to perfect his Bloodline. The venerable warrior was also a wonderfully caring man, something rare among such powerful and elderly Evolvers.

As a result, Jake was on the verge of exploding.

"I'm going down." Jake announced chillingly as he sank into the ground.

Ainsling and the two sisters did not bother to ask him why. Xellmezon and Vhoskaud were dead and Azeus imprisoned. That left only Shamash to deal with. Keeping an eye on the mansion to intercept possible runaways was no longer relevant.

*****

"W-who are you?" Lucia howled madly, her gaze riveted on the bloodied and unrecognizable body of Kenway breathing his last.

A golden hoof as wide as a car was currently trampling the invincible Werelion with its full weight. A titanic black Minotaur, or at least something resembling one, towered over them, its spiral horns shining like the sun as it sank into the ceiling and melted its surface.

Instead of simply answering, a spirit wave with the monster as its epicenter rippled through the entire hall. At that moment, the drab and dilapidated floor faded away, replaced by an incomprehensible scene.

In a majestic ancient city built in the middle of the desert, a huge temple under construction that looked more like a palace overlooked the city from the top of a cliff. Millions of slaves were working on the site to complete the construction as quickly as possible.

In the square of the finished temple, hundreds of thousands of worshippers stood prostrate and barefoot in front of a green malachite statue as tall as a building. The statue depicted a handsome old man, bearded and bare-chested with bull horns, a winged sun disk that served as a medallion and a long saw slung over his back.

Suddenly, all the pilgrims began to chant in one voice,

"Your glorious rising illuminates the existence of men:

All turn towards Your marvelous radiance!

Like an immense blaze, You illuminate the World...

When you appear, Shamash, the peoples fall prostrate;

All people, everywhere, bow down before You !

You shine in the darkness, and You hold the reins of Heaven!

Your glory has covered the farthest mountains,

Your radiance has filled the face of the Earth!

Perched on the Mountains, You inspect the World:

From Heaven, You hold at arm's length all the countries.

You have in your hands all that Ea, the wise King, has produced:

You take care of all the inhabitants of the Earth,

You feed all living beings without exception!

Up here and down there, their only Shepherd is You!

You never cease to cross the skies,

Every day, you travel the endless Earth...

You pass unceasingly the Sea, wide and immense,

Whose depths the celestial gods themselves ignore,

But your rays, Shamash, descend into the abyss

And the sea monsters behold your light!"

The psalm ended and the illusion vanished as Lucia and the others returned to the wrecked hall where they had been a moment earlier.

"You ask me who I am?" The giant Minotaur chuckled in contempt. "Now you know. I-AM-SHAMASH!"

SLASH!

An Adamantium saber the size of a skyscraper covered in runes dropped from the sky like an asteroid and cleaved the colossal monster in two. As the two halves crashed heavily with a loud rumble, a Gold Myrtharian floated down from the sky and stood majestically above the corpse.

"Who the heck you are? Nobody gives a shit." Jake sneered as he jerked the golden blood off his blade.