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Two years passed without much knowledge to Tobias. Ever since his people and his culture were erased from this world, the passing of time meant very little to him.

But he still kept count nonetheless. He had a score to settle with the dark creature that was the cause for more than just his solitude now.

Gaia's wisdom these past two years was a mercy he wasn't sure he deserved. Her knowledge of the magical creature in the cave proved to be both a blessing and a curse to Tobias. He had a complete understanding of the creature and what exactly it had done to him.

He could not hate himself more for seeking them out in the first place than he already did. He was not human anymore. Nothing in him felt human. These things he could do... Gaia called them gifts bestowed to him, but he viewed it as a duty to pay back the creature handsomely for the death of Arc together with his beloved wife and child.

The memory of his family had him subconsciously run his hand over the bracelet on his left wrist. This was the only reminder of a life he lost. But also a fine motivational factor to know what he had to do.

Sometimes it was hard to control all that power. Gaia assured him that he'd be able to master it with time. He needed to understand himself as he was now, rather than trying to fight what he had become. But what had he become in reality? A monster? An anomaly of nature? Nothing the goddess spoke to him on the subject alleviated his displeasure in his own skin.

This power in him... it drove him to the point of trying to end his life multiple times in his training. But he couldn't, not when he still had a purpose to avenge his people, Nadiya and Alectra... only a memory to him now.

Today he was ready to make good on his promise as he made his way to the last place he had met with them two years ago. He was sure the cave still held them. Gaia had explained that she was responsible for whisking him away from there when he took their power. It was amazing to Tobias how much the legends were true about the patrons and the dark gods. If only he had listened more keenly to his elders.

Everything was the same as he had seen it two years ago. The woods at the bottom of the mountain smelled as lovely as ever. The water in the nearby river felt as cool in the air as always. The heat from the sun was warm against his ebony skin. All the divine elements felt closer to him. He was one with them after all.

He sensed the creature move with the wind as if it were flying down the mountain. The force felt like three people existed in that body. It was astonishing but not a surprise to feel it. Gaia had already explained what they were after all.

"Welcome back, Tobias." Their tone made his anger flare up inside of him. It made it seem like they were old friends time had made distant, "We didn't expect you back so soon."

"So you knew I'd come back?"

"Of course we knew. You are who you are now because of us."

He had never felt so sure about anything in his life other than what had to be done here today. He had to kill them. They were not just dark magic as his people had professed them to be. They were the very definition of evil. The exiled deities from the heaven of the gods.

"It is foolish to think you could best us in any form of combat, Tobias. We still know what your heart truly desires," with a wave of their hands, the black fumes he had once seen at the entrance of their cave formed to resemble Nadiya. For a moment, Tobias' will wavered. She looked just as beautiful as the day he left her. The apparition extended its arms to him and he caught himself just before he did the same. He had been trained in his sessions with Gaia to muster the power in him. This power they used now was from the death of Arc itself.

The illusion was truly wonderful, but that was all it was; an illusion.

"You were murdered by them, and I will avenge you and Alectra today."

He heard the hiss from the creature and was prepared for the attack they threw at him. He blasted the apparition apart before it had advanced towards him with the light from the sun. It felt as if he had freed her after being held in the clutches of his enemy. He felt her soul truly belong to him now.

He roared with anger and a sense of purpose as he charged towards them at a blistering speed. But they were nothing but prepared for this battle. The purple mist caught his energy ray in mid-motion and an aftershock sent a force so violently in between them that it uprooted several of the surrounding trees.

The creature was surprised by how strong Tobias had gotten in such a small amount of time. She'd attacked him with the intent to slay him, an attack that had struck down many gods in the past, yet the man was still standing without a scratch on him. Was he now in league with the very same gods who discarded them here to languish in mortal peril? None of that mattered all together to them.

The power inside him was only half but it would suffice to begin their revenge.

Tobias recovered quickly and aimed a new jet of fire at them that they parried away with a wave of purple mist. It shaped itself into shadows of warriors from the fallen race of Arc and advanced on Tobias with the same skill he'd seen decimate entire battalions of ravagers and barbarians who came to conquer them. He was no warrior so to speak, but he had learned all their skills by heart. They moved as a single unit, trying to catch him off guard with the swings of their purple blades. He had always been struggling with defence in his training, and it was no surprise when one blade sliced his left arm deep.

"Why bother defying what you can become Tobias?" he heard the creature still trying to break his will as if killing him was not enough for them. It seemed they enjoyed playing with their food before they ate it.

"Join us and we can reunite you with all that you have lost."

All that he had lost? All that he had lost was because of them! They had cursed him this way all in a bid to get their power back. He would curse himself to the depths of Purgatory before he allowed them to win his soul.

He dragged his limp hand around as he moved and angled his body until he was clear enough to fire another energy ray, not at the purple warriors, but at the deity who stood far from the battle. The instant her concentration broke to deflect the attack, the purple warriors disappeared in wisps of purple mist and Tobias influenced the very ground they stood on to sprout thick roots that coiled there way around the creature.

"Foolish mortal!" They roared and blasted apart the roots just as Tobias was preparing to move in for the kill. It caught him in motion and the blow took the air out of his lungs. The creature was too strong. Every element he threw at her didn't reach her very skin to cause any damage. Maybe this was impossible even if he had all this power.

But he would not give up. Every time they defended his attack he chose a different element. When Water could not drown them, he tried to influence Earth to bury them. When both of these failed, he turned to Fire to try and burn them alive. Even when this also didn't work, he turned to Wood and Metal from Gaia's domain to try and bind them even if for a moment. But nothing worked. All he did seemed meaningless now as he was inches for his death, the purple whip having sliced his torso for the umpteenth time.

<You must fight Tobias! If you give up, Arc will never live on> The voice of Gaia in his head only reminded him of how his failure would be catastrophic. It was amazing that even with his death, he would still destroy his people's legacy. He knew he had to fight. But his flesh was damaged, the cuts infected by the mysterious purple mist the deity attacked him with. His will was wavering, nothing he could do about that now. And this power he wielded was still raw and unbalanced. What more could he do?

<Believe,> there was a gentle voice that sang to his soul. That wasn't Gaia's voice. Not the dark creature's either. This voice he first heard seventeen years ago. Nothing had ever sounded so blissful than it right now.

<My child... my Alectra... forgive me...>

<Father, I am not dead. I am still here... alive in your heart, where I belong.>

He didn't understand. The ashes in Arc... there were no survivors...

<You saved me when I almost perished from this world, father. But now you must fight for my mother. Fight and save our people.>

Alectra's words felt like a sudden flow of current throughout his body. He'd been unaware until now that the creature had been closing in to kill him. The purple mist was sipping into his soul, trying hard to break his will. This was what Alectra came to save him from.

"Your efforts are commendable, mortal. But even the girl cannot stop what is coming to you now," the creature sneered at him as they unleashed their entire power upon him. It blinded him completely as a sea of purple mist that burned like a fire surrounded him. His sight was gone from him and nothing smelled appealing here. But he could still hear her. He heard the voice of his only child whispering the same words over and over again.

<Fight for our people, father.>

Yes, he will fight for his people. They were his life, their souls still existing outside of the mortal bodies that the creature stole from them. But she could not touch their souls. The realization of this brought great change to Tobias' body. Blue lightning engulfed his entire being and his senses returned with a sudden rush as he let out a fierce battle cry and shattered the fire prison he had been trapped in.

The creature knew no mortal could ever inflict damage worth mentioning to a god. They had never known pain at the hands of any man. It was an entirely new sensation when the blue current sent them flying several meters backwards, breaking numerous trees along the way.

The mortal had found the power they had been so desperate to take! And worse of all, it seemed like the power had bonded with him on a spiritual level. Looking at him now, he did not seem human at all. He resembled a man only in stature, but his eyes held the same electric blue that danced around his entire body as if it were amour.

They were terrified at his transformation into a being they had never witnessed before. They had to kill him now before he was aware of it. Before he could realize what he had become. They rose to their feet about to retaliate with another jet of purple fire when the man moved. He was a blur of blue light, faster than lightning itself as he began flinging attack after attack at them. They couldn't lift a finger to defend the on slaughter he rained down on them. Attack after attack rained on her and she felt her body grow weaker and weaker until she knew the only way to survive was to evolve as well.

The purple blast shocked him out of the zone he tried to cast them in. Tobias knew they were desperate if they had considered it necessary to use all their power on him. This was going to be the end of one of them.

The face and body of the creature was no longer remotely attractive. The creature resembled a beast now, twice as high as Tobias himself. They looked like a demon, their eyes glowing a violent shade of amethyst and their hair flaring behind them like a roaring violet fire.

They spoke with a different tongue. Very ancient, but he understood them. He did more than understand the language. He could see them for who they were. Three goddesses converged in one being to create a creature whose speciality was death.

It seemed an even battle nonetheless. They both moved like gods now, Tobias with a trail of blue behind him and the creature with a trail of purple. He sent wave after wave of blue currents. The creature sent wave after wave of purple fire. None was ready to let up from the fight. They both had too much to lose if they fell.

Tobias was quickly becoming aware of his movements lessening in speed though. The power in him was becoming too much for his body to handle. He couldn't help the spasm that shook his left hand and made it impossible to defend the purple fire that caught him squarely on the chest, sending him down to the ground.

He was defeated. What else was there he could do? He had used up all the energy in him. It felt dry... like a well inside of him with no water left to draw from. The blue current was straining just to keep alight. He knew his end was near.

"You have failed," the creature's voice screeched gleefully in the common tongue. It felt nothing like the sound made from a human when speaking. "And know we will take what we came for."

The purple mist was choking him as it pulled him closer to them. He wasn't sure what more he could do. He wanted to rest and be with his family. His eyes welled with tears as the mist brought him to his knees in front of the creature.

The look in its eyes, the glint of joy at having achieved all it set out to do... Tobias knew this was not how his story was meant to end. He refused to die like this. At the hands of those who killed his people. He knew what he had to do. He knew what was right to do. He was not afraid of his death. He never had been.

But he would meet it on his own terms.

The creature took the tears in Tobias' eyes as a sign of submission. The man had fought extraordinarily well, better than most gods they had wage war against. Perhaps even better than the god of war himself. It only proved that the power they had been stripped of was greater now than it had combined with nature's energy. What wonders could they do with it? Their mouth watered just at the thought of it.

They were too impatient to let their magic strip him of the power. They'd pull it straight from his soul. Their hand was outstretched, ready to reclaim what was stolen from them when the man did something they never imagined before. Something all the centuries they lived and waged war could never have prepared them for.

He touched them.

It was the lightest of touches, his index finger barely touching theirs. But there was a momentous shift in the air's force. His blue armour blazed again with life as he lifted his eyes to the sky. Cracks spread out from where he knelt on the ground in a circular motion, curving symbols in the ground where they both stood. The horror on the creature's face spoke volumes of the fear that was gripping them. They knew these symbols all too well. This was what those deities of Light used to imprison her all those years ago.

"You have trapped the souls of my people," Tobias spoke in his Arcian dialect, "I am here to free them."

And the blue current came down from above like lightning. It freed them of his hold but they couldn't flee. The man was basking in the brilliant blue light like water flowing down his body. The current was being absorbed in his armour until it glowed as bright as the sun. When it was finally at its peak, he levelled a hand towards them and clenched his fist as an enormous ray of blue energy shot out from it straight to the creature.

The sustained pressure weighed down on him as well, threatening to choke the life out of him. But he was not afraid of his power. It was not trying to kill him. It was showing him who he was. Who he was always meant to be.

The explosion was deafening as it rocked the entire earth he stood on until his knees buckled and he could no longer keep the current flowing through his armour. He wasn't sure how he still lived. Letting all that energy flow through him... he was very lucky to still be in one piece.

He looked at his hands and noticed that they were normal again. It was the first time he felt it since meeting the creature. He gazed around and noticed that the entire forest at the foot of the mountain was destroyed. His battle with the creature had hurt Gaia as badly as he felt now.

Speaking of the creature, they were nowhere in sight. There was a big crater where he had attempted to burn them alive and in its midst lay an orange-sized jewel sparkling purple in the sunlight.

<Well done, Tobias.>

"Is it over? Are they dead Gaia?"

<I am afraid not. Darkness cannot be completely eradicated just as Light cannot be completely obscured. But rest assured they have been dealt with accordingly.>

Tobias was silent for a while as he glanced again at the gem, now shining dark purple colour.

"How?"

<When you unlocked your full potential, I combined your aura with the forest's own to seal them in the prison you see in front of you. As you can see around you, the ordeal cost me a great deal of life force. But nothing time cannot recover again.>

The life force of the forest was what had helped him. He should have been glad that he was able to defeat them. But he wasn't. Tobias was bitter that they had not begun to suffer as he would for the rest of his existence.

<Do not live in the past Tobias. Your journey lies ahead of you. Your destiny is only beginning.>

Gaia was right. He was sure that whatever he had accomplished today was greater than what he had come to do. He could feel them in Alectra's bracelet. He had somehow kept the entire spirit of Arc in the very bracelet he wore as a symbol to that life.

"We must make sure that they never escape their prison. It will be my mission and that of my descendants after me to guard it."

<As you wish.>

Tobias walked over to pick up the gem. Even in its potency, he could feel them inside, reeking of malice and ill-will. Gaia guided him for four days and four nights till he came to an island far away from the nearest border in Arc. He walked further into the island's thick jungle for another day until he was certain he had found the right place to store the gem. The cave felt and looked dark, the centre cold and desolate.

A place worthy enough for such a creature.

But he had to make sure of their exile. So at the entrance he carved the symbols he had used to trap them when they fought and sealed it with the magic of his blue lightning before proclaiming his final verdict at the edge of the island;

"These lands will never age and will never decay. My fallen brethren will stand watch, forever guarding against intruders. Only my blood descendants will be able to walk these lands unharmed, forever ensuring the creature remains sealed in their eternal prison. This is the will of the Ancestral Lands."

He was finished. After years of endless torture and mental agony, he had finally avenged his people. Now he was alone, all the Arcian souls were left in the Ancestral Lands to guard it against all, not of Tobias's bloodline. A fitting role to those who had caused their deaths.

Tobias wondered alone from the place. In the unknown world, his people before him had never thought to venture, knowing the future of Arc was guaranteed, but never safe from peril.

This was proven after the passing of several centuries as deep within the Ancestral Lands, an infinitesimal crack traced its way down the surface of the violet gem and a wisp of purple mist escaped from within.