The thought that had brought the naked man to question his instincts disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. A fleeting doubt formed by what little trace of humanity the aspects of existence shared with mortals. And yet, he was quick to remind himself that he was not one. He was the aspect born from instincts, and his guts told him that there was a way for their group to defeat Daniel. With that being said, the only question he should have asked himself was ‘how?’

With a clearer mind he let go of Sentience, and once again, went back to observe the ongoing fight, silently waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Daniel and Order were currently engaging in a mortal duel with weapons of pure existential power. A ten feet long and two feet wide greatsword shroud in white flames and a double pointed spear of pure gold that, upon contact, released sparks of brilliant light and purifying flames that left burnt marks and poked holes into the fabric of space. Despite the larger pool of power at Daniel’s disposal, Order had managed to maintain the upper-hand throughout their clash, aided by the unique qualities of his and Sentience’s existential powers.

Usually able to eradicate the consciousness of others at will, against a creature of Daniel’s caliber, Sentience’s innate abilities could only be considered a mild annoyance. Upon contact, his hegemony over the nature of sentient consciousnesses allowed him to hinder the workings of one’s mind, compelling Daniel to fall asleep or at least distract him with distant memories, while from a distance, the best he could do was hinder Daniel’s thoughts, slowing his reactions and making him struggle to follow or remember his own plan.

Order’s power, in comparison, was far more terrifying. Its nature as a weapon of order was the bane of chaotic actions and energies, and was meant to always retain an advantage over chaos in what chaos was weakest, intensity. Like a light in the darkness, it shone brilliantly enough to fight off the never ending advance of its nemesis, and at the moment, Karma’s existence was pure chaos. The unnatural way he had been born, the conflict his existence had created, the damage he had done to others. All actions that went against the natural order of things, and that in turn, increased Order’s power not in the amount he could wield, but in its purity.

Every few bouts a new wound would appear on Daniel’s body, forcing him to seek new paths to escape. His eyes steered away from Sacrifice’s figure for fear that such a minute detail would trigger Instinct’s perception. Without incapacitating Instinct, Daniel had realized there was nothing he could do. 

But, alas, things were about to get worse.

Heeding Sentience’s call, several more powers joined the white and golden nebula, painting it with hues of dark and fiery reds and greens. It was then that Daniel’s surroundings began to change and Order stopped his onslaught, disappearing into a cloud of his own power.

Confused by the turn of events Daniel turned around, and soon noticed that Roley and Der were standing by his side. Standing? He suddenly realized as his mind clocked that he was not floating into space any longer, but was standing onto a clearing. A red sky stretched over him, and red dirt all around.

“What is this, where are we?” Roley asked.

Der’s gaze went left to right for a moment, then answered, “A battlefield.”

This sight was far too familiar to him, for it was a scenery he had been part of countless times as a commander of mortal armies. But something was missing. The handles of spears and swords reaching for the skies as their blades dug into still and cold bodies, the smell of burnt blood and flesh, the screams of horror and pain and sadness. None of those details were present, giving the clearing the air of an ancient battlefield rather than a recent one.

“Daniel, I don’t think we can fight much longer. I only have f-” Roley said before being shushed by a faint hiss.

“They are still here.” Daniel said. 

ƥαṇdαηθνε|

Soon walls turned to hills, then hills turned to mountains. Only then were the three able to see what sort of stone these structures were made of. It was bodies. Millions of bodies piled one onto the other into forming dozens of dark red mountains that bled at their feet.

Suddenly, a faint dark mist emerged from in between the mountains, inching towards them.

Inside this dark mist Daniel, Roley and Der could see the several aspects of existence they had been facing. No injuries were present on their bodies, now clean of soot and char, and clad in identical neat sets of armors, each the color of the power the aspect that wore them represented.

The aspects of existence halted their advance about half a mile from the three, but the mist didn’t. The mist continued its advance in their direction, occasionally split open by blades of gold or stopped by barriers Daniel had erected, but it was all for naught. Whenever the mist found no path towards its mark, Daniel’s mind would flicker and go blank, causing him to lose control of the barrier he had created. 

The mist made hasty use of these small windows of time to further advance until finally, it came in contact with their bodies. Then, nothing.

Despite Daniel’s worries, the mist did not seem intent on harming them, and simply lingered around them like a scent.

In front of him the nine figures remained still, each contributing to the oppressive superiority their side emanated, making it clear to Daniel and his two companions that they were on the losing side of this war. That their army was destined to be destroyed, and that there was no hope of survival, or surrender. They would die here, and join the mountains of corpses as simple stones.

“I am way over my head.. Why am I even here?” Daniel said as an inexplicable sense of fear strangled at his heart, mind and nerves. “I am a fraud. They will kill me.” His hands shook uncontrollably, and the gold disappeared from his eyes.

Next to him, Roley had fallen prey to similar thoughts. Worries that his ability as a leader had brought too many unnecessary deaths, far more than the seclusive elementals would have experienced had they simply killed him, rather than entrust upon him their biggest hopes and dreams. “I can’t keep anyone alive, I will die here..” He added to Daniel grim realization.

As these thoughts consumed the minds of his companions, however, Der looked forward in silence. Thoughts born from powers beyond the reach of his imagination tried to chip at his sanity, showing him images of his daughter laying on the floor, abused, tortured and killed, and of his friends, dead for making the mistake of following him. He was a failure, there was no doubt in his mind. He thought. But while these thoughts attempted to corrupt his mind, his heart and spirit remained calm. A confident smile had formed on his lips as he stepped forward. “You cannot show me anything I have not learned to live with already.” His voice aimed at the black humanoid figure clad in dark armor, the aspect of Fear, the woman in the light green armor, Control, and the scholar in blue armor, Sentience.

“What a powerful will.” Fear muttered in an eerie mixture of a hundred voices.

“Mortal.” bellowed the giant. “Your battle tested spirit impresses me. Join my domain and I will make you first of my champions.”

The two women in green armor could not help but turn towards the giant with eyes filled with discontent. In their minds, they cursed themselves for allowing the barbarian to speak the words they themselves were thinking, for in Der’s unbreakable spirit and mind they saw a perfect champion for the domains of Control and Authority.

Der did not answer. Instead, he turned to look at his companions, still stuck under the influence of Fear. In his eyes, the two were still the same kids he had met in the past. The young scholar who had refused to learn the art of swordplay from him countless times, and the clever young man whose father he had led to death in battle, but who also had the heart to help his family once his name had fallen.

As he lived these memories his expression softened, but only for a moment. He sighed deeply then turned to look back at the giant. “I had no right to take part in your trial, nor was it my business to fight any of you.” He said, “I am just a mortal.” His feet slowly began to move in stable backward steps that sent ripples into the pool of blood he had been standing in. “Bringing me into a battlefield was your mistake.” He said.

As Der finished speaking, he found himself standing in between his two panicked companions. His hands landed gently onto their shoulders, and with a deep and commanding voice, he said, “Fear was never able to stop or control the two of you, and it never will. Now, wake up.”

In a moment these few words reached the ears of the two young men, dispelling the existential power of fear and control that had locked them into a cycle of worry and self-hate, and brought them back to reality. Such negative emotions were expelled with deep sighs as the worry left their faces.

Once freed Daniel had felt a deep sense of humiliation. He had been caught. Hypnotized through the collective effort of the aspects of Fear, Control and Sentience, but caught nonetheless. He was furious, and yet, as he looked at the man standing beside him, his heart calmed down. For the first time since his ascension he had recognized the value of a mortal.

Roley was of a similar mind. In his eyes Der appeared like a giant. A father one could rely on to carry them to safety through the night. A man who would face the very gods for the safety of his child. How could he have allowed himself to lose his respect? He asked himself. Ascending had never sounded less important than it had now. 

“What do we do now?” the young scholar asked the warrior.

After freeing his two companions, the clearing laid in front of Der’s eyes had changed. Not a normal battlefield anymore, as a foot soldier would have seen it, but a playing field. Far less pieces were on his side, but the rules were clear. His face turned solemn, and his voice announced, “Now we go to war.”