Tread Lightly

A colossal trunk falls for me, the bark scarred and corroded by Darklight. Ripping one hand from the ground, I let Blodwyn take over Bone Orchard while I twist the Ether in my palm into a rotating blade. With a flash of my palm, only one finger getting lopped off by my lack of control at the moment, a Twisted Edge is born.

A crescent wave of internally imploding Ether strikes the trunk, breaking the building-thick tree into a thousand pieces. The corrosive silvery light falls onto me with the shrapnel, but I ignore it as I focus on Bone Orchard with all I have.

My whole body is under cumulative stress as I hold the thousands of accelerating spikes of bone aloft. A low growl comes from my throat as I refuse to give up, to relent, to allow Maxemista to rush right by me. A scream continues, echoing into the air as the God roars in defiance similarly.

Seconds pass while we are placed in a deadlock. Gazing upward, I find the hairy and furious countenance of the God of Forests, and he discovers mine all the same. A short chuckle wishes to escape my lungs, but I can't let it.

I matched him! Only for a little, though. I can feel his forests overwhelming my Bone Orchard. It's only a matter of a few moments. But that's alright.

Lennon will wake up soon. He has to, right?

Tucking in my chin and digging my heels into the earth, another primal yell flows alongside the Ether I haul into Bone Orchard. Thousands more spikes are born from the artificial souls, but they begin to crack apart, shattering one by one.

I knew it. My Soulful wasn't all that good. It barely even occurred. Shit!

The multiple souls that hold up the landscape of white rapidly vanish, leaving me without an army against Maxemista's. I attempt to restart the process, but the God breaks through my defenses before I can.

An oak tree slams into me sideways, the branches piercing into my flesh and sending me hurtling over the terrain. I bounce across rocks, ripping open more wounds before slamming into the earth not far from Isaac.

Blinking away the pain as Blodwyn regenerates our... everything, I see Isaac glance at me with his remaining pale flame.

"Not doing too good, huh?"

I shake my head, spitting out blood that leaked from my internals into my windpipe. The cleared lungs allow me to answer him as Maxemista continues running our way like an unstoppable force. The God of Forests has only continued to grow, overshadowing even the nearby mountains.

It's... it makes one feel powerless.

"Not at all. What about you? Could your Sirza—?"

Isaac cuts me off, removing the head of a lunging Angel with his Dominion. Stomping the Motherbound's corpse into the floor, which already looked like some kind of insect, the man does not appear to have high hopes.

"No. I built it to deal with a large force, not one overwhelming figure. It won't do much to a God, but... if you give it some time, I can probably finish this army off."

That's a funny one. Give it some time. Yeah. I don't have the authority to make that choice. But it doesn't appear as though I have any agency here at all.

Cracking my knuckles, I stride forward once more toward Maxemista. Undoubtedly, the third time is the charm, no?

"Lennon! Wake the fuck up!"

I scream into the Underworld for my only ally in this Godly duel, and to my relief, I get a reply.

"Shut up, dumbass! I'm still alive! Just do that bone thing again! I need a good shot!"

Yes! He's still alive! Okay. Okay.

Glancing upward at Maxemista's towering form, which, along with the green apocalyptic landscape around him, is only a few seconds away, I take a deep gasp of air. Then another and two more, with all the haste in the world.

With lungs full of Ether, I redo Bone Orchard, creating those false souls to act independently. This time, I make more, but I'm unsure of how to make them better. It hurts. It hurts enough to make me almost attempt another method, but I don't have time.

Falling to the ground again, a commonality when I use this skill, I compel the Ether in my body toward those souls. This is where it will get dicey. I'm low on remaining saturation. But that can't stop me. I need... I need to do this.

Lennon needs his opportunity to strike!

The God is coming. Each step rumbles like a tidal wave, and the earth quakes beneath my feet. I reach out with my hands, feeling the surge of Ether rush from my lungs, through my veins, and into the ground below, then, finally, into the souls that transmute the Ether into solids. Bones rip from the earth, spiraling upward, jagged and deadly, forming a twisted labyrinth of skeletal structures. The bone forest rises like a fortress as I brace for the onslaught.

The God, however, is unrelenting. Massive trees sprout around him, their trunks as thick as ancient redwoods. But these are not ordinary trees. They twist and contort, their branches stretching out like arms of a leviathan. With a single howl, the God sends them crashing toward me. They move with impossible speed, cannon rounds hurling toward my face. Leaves slice through the air, leaving trails of razor-sharp wind, while fruits and nuts explode on impact, turning the sky into a kaleidoscope of deadly shrapnel.

I conjure more bone to shield myself. Ribs arch over me, forming a dome that trembles with each strike. The impact is fierce, like a barrage of siege weapons. My bones rattle with each blow, my muscles tighten, and I can barely keep my eyes open. The pressure builds, and the God pushes harder, his rage manifesting in the violent storm of nature he's created.

But I refuse to yield. I summon more bone, this time sending jagged spikes outward, forcing the God to take a step back as I toss them with a hand, Twisted Edge giving it some oomph. The spikes pierce through the trees, shattering branches and sending splinters flying. I strike back with everything I have, my remaining energy depleting with each surge of power.

Every second that passes, the throbbing headache deteriorates into a stabbing agony. I'm in for far worse, though.

The God doesn't fall back; he doesn't even pause, only shifting to be larger and more oppressive. The trees grow thicker, their roots winding through my bone forest, squeezing and crushing as they go. My vision blurs, my breath becomes shallow, and I feel the pull of unconsciousness. But I can't give up. I won't let this God tear through everything I've built.

Maxemista won't kill Isaac. And... And I'll give Lennon the chance to kill this foul thing!

I push myself to the limit, raising more bones and creating a labyrinth of death to keep the God at bay. But he's coming, and I know I can't hold him back much longer. The clash between bone and nature is fierce, and the ground shakes with each collision. I can feel my strength waning, but I can't let go. Not yet. Not while there's still a chance to win.

This is our third competition, and I'm already sliding backward from the quaking earth.

I am not finding any other option, so I swap from being on the defensive to going all-in on offense. Taking a step toward the God, my bones parting for me to do so, I raise my arms to the sky.

Blodwyn slices open my arms, letting the blood intertwine with the bone as I attack with all I have. Pale spears, spikes, roots, bombs, and everything Maxemista has thrown at me and more, I toss back, all augmented with a deep crimson. At the same time, I contort my soul, slowing down Maxemista's own Dominion and growth.

The God of Forests doesn't seem to expect this as our assaults pass by each other. Bone slides against wood with a screeching friction. My eyes widen as, simultaneously, a duo of pillars stabs into Maxemista's chest, and a tree trunk impales me to the earth.

Even still, neither of us let up. Maxemista roars into the sky, shaking the faux ceiling into crumbling, and I join him, letting out my own pain and effort.

Clenching my fist, I push all my Ether into those artificial souls, so much so that they shatter and crack, but not without finishing their orders. More skeletal weapons pierce the God while I'm connected to the earth with even more deadly branches. Bone Orchard is no match on its own. But with the aid of my Dominion slowing Maxemista down and Blodwyn's help... There is a chance.

Blood runs down my body in a dozen filled holes while Blodwyn and I hang a few feet off the ground, elevated by the trunk, entering and exiting my right lung. Another is in between my hips, while several others are littered all over.

Coughing, I clench my fists as I hear the very air shatter from a being's movement. The Bone Orchard has managed to restrain Maxemista, so he's started to shrink to escape the binds. Meanwhile... I watch a swordsman soar through the air using his own soul as fuel.

While Blodwyn cuts at the diamond-hard wood with his blood to free us, I watch Lennon careen right past Maxemista. A flash of a Dominion cuts through the air, and so, a flood of dark ichor enters the sky.

The shrunken cranium of a God falls to the ground, staining the bone beneath him with blackened gold.

Lennon Hull tumbles from his speed, unable to stop, rolling over skeletons I conjured and sharp wooden shrapnel. He quickly recovers, sliding into a crouched stance, but I can tell he isn't well. The swordsman's whole body is trembling, hardly able to move.

I'm worse off, though. All the Ether from my gasps is gone, and I can feel my headache at a pinnacle. Any further... things won't be good.

Maxemista, however, even without a head, is better off than us both. The headless body steps onward toward me, reaching for his head to the side while that silvery darkness shifts for it.

Lennon Hull growls out a threat as he crawls forward.

"No. You cannot leave yet. You cannot leave until I win."

The determination in my friend's voice fills me with some energy. With a wobbling hand, most of the tendons and muscles torn into nothingness by the wood, I reach for Lily. I neglected using her until now as I wanted her to have the last shot, but it's either now or never. Sure, she can fire off more rounds now, but they are unlimited. At this moment, however... I toss it all aside. We just need to kill him.

My fingers wrap around the steel as Lennon does some kind of feral dash at Maxemista, using his own Dominion as arms to aid him while placing his 'Dia' within his mouth. The madman darts for a God without a genuine weapon in hand, only in the mouth.

Maxemista twists to face Lennon, lashing a hand outward with a speed that cannot be witnessed, only felt. And yet... Maxemista is still slower than the River Cardinal.

The back of the God's hand stops an inch from Lennon's temple, though the sheer force of the air displaced is enough to knock the swordsman to the ground. What stops Maxemista, however, is a thin river of abyssal smoke-like water that connects him to the Colt in my hand. A reassuring petal upon the surface resonates throughout my soul. Still... not all is well.

"Wyatt! This guy! I can't take that much! I'm sorry! He's...! OWW! I'm sorry!"

Lily apologizes for not being strong enough, and yet, the wood that has withstood Blodwyn's endeavors is instantly shattered, replaced by newly grown flesh. Falling to the ground, I place a palm on the ground and look ahead to Maxemista. Deep, gasping breaths come in and out of the God of Forest's chest.

Almost. He's getting tired. Just a little more, Lennon, and we got this. While my body is wholly rejuvenated, my Ether is still at a precarious limit. So, I steadily walk toward Maxemista, the short distance between us covered in just a few seconds.

Lennon stands behind the God, who is only a size larger than the two of us, ten or so feet tall. He's still massive, but it's within understanding now. Cradling Lily with one hand, I form a Soulbone in the other.

Maxemista growls with fury, darting a hand out to remove my head with blistering speed. He moves so terrifyingly fast that I can only pivot slightly, losing the right side of my body, not my left.

Blodwyn beats to the open air as crimson floods the earth. Maxemista immediately follows up just as ferally as he looks, but a formless blade strikes his head as he attempts to reattach it. The impact rocks the hairy figure before me, forcing his next strike only to graze my left arm.

Falling backward, Blodwyn works with a vengeance as Lily's vitality still flows through us. In less than the time Lennon needs for a slash, my wounds are sealed, Blodwyn firmly within my body once more. All I can do here is use my soul. Shape rails against the Godly might before me, doing everything it can to weaken him while Lennon gets to work.

A quick back and forth rises between the two, and I join in, using what Ether I have left to inhale another gasp. Knocking on the verge of a breakdown, I attack Maxemista with all I have.

Lennon does the same as the God is unable to grow again for some reason, locked into this small but mighty form. He's faster than anything I've ever seen, more physically powerful than even all five of my gasps, and just as durable as my father.

Yet, we have our own advantages.

Maxemista hits me again and again, yet he can just never secure my death. The vitality that Lily stole runs rampant through my flesh and, with Blodwyn's help, is used ideally to keep us alive.

Lennon is his authentic self, a determined, quiet, and fearless warrior. Slash after slash, deflect after deflect, move after move, the man is nothing but perfection. Slower, weaker, and brittle, it doesn't matter.

The Bladeless Monster is perfection personified into a killing machine. The Concept itself flows within his sword. It has to at this point. Every time I think he will get hit, that he will finally die, an ingenious flick of a blade, or twist of the ankle, or even a tilt of the head, and he survives by less than a hair's breadth.

Together... together, we wear down the God, preventing him from communing with his skull or brain. Neither of us knows if it's actually all that important, but Maxemista continues reaching for the decapitated skull.

And gradually... the God weakens enough that Lennon's typical slash leaves behind unhealing lacerations, and my spikes puncture more than just his flesh.

The swordsman backsteps abruptly, tossing his hands before his body as his blade points slightly downward. Seeing this, I nod at Lennon, dashing toward Maxemista. The giant rushes for Lennon, knowing he is attempting something dangerous, but I stab my Soulbone into Maxemista's knee, the small underside. A while ago, I'd have been too slow, but without his head, God is weakened further.

Howling in pain, Maxemista twists, cursing at me in some unknown language. As the fist falls for me, tiny trees emerge, much like my Soulbone, to enter my body and ruin me from the inside out. Before I am slammed into the earth once more, a slim whisper echoes across the land.

It is a prayer, but not to any God. Instead, it is to a man's lone partner, his loyal blade.

"Dia. I require your sharpness once more."

Sickly blue covers my sight before a body splits into two vertical halves, cutting beyond Maxemista and into my own flesh. Fortunately, my posture is muddled because of my failed attempt to dodge, so I'm only cut diagonally, a much preferred alternative.

Blodwyn and I fall into one half as the remnants of Lily's bullet reconnect the two parts. Curling around while we heal, I crawl for Maxemista's form, drawing Lily in hopes of finishing him off with the little Colt's bullet.

Yet, Lily groans in refusal.

"No... so full..."

Sighing, I instead deign to stab the everloving shit out of this God until his flesh stops writhing like a worm. Lennon has already started stomping and cutting the many parts of Maxemista into tinier segments. How many times do we have to cut him? Are all Gods this fucking tough!?