Whimsyshire

Discord snapped his fingers and a thick glass dome was put around himself and Bannuk, keeping the others from interfering. Discord looked fondly at the blade and flourished it as he turned and walked away from Bannuk. Bannuk in the meantime moved his hand from his belly wound to the gushing stump that was once his right arm. Bannuk looked up at Discord and curled his lip up in disgust.

"You are a coward, and a fool to lock yourself in here with me." Bannuk spat.

Envy squirmed under the heavy boot that pressed against her throat. Bannuk did not even look away form Discord however, as he put his weight onto Envy's neck. The snap sounded around the glass dome, and Envy was dead instantly as her brain stem was snapped.

"Oh? And what do you plan to do about it, hmm? You are battered, broken, and soon to be dead..." Discord said with a hint of contempt in his voice.

"This!" Bannuk roared as he let the fury surge through him.

Bannuk's body swelled as his muscled grew larger and he gritted his teeth in pain. His hair grew, resembling the mane of a lion as his skin turned red and rocky. His blood turned to lava and his insides glowed white hot. The wound he had sustained dramatically slowed their bleeding to a dribble of lava. Bannuk clenched his remaining fist and beat his chest as he let out an ear shattering war cry that shook the thick glass dome.

Discord scoffed at the transformation, "You think your power can match mine? Impudent fool! I am the spirit of chaos, and all that you have done is feed me in this world. You should be bowing before me as you would a god!"

"Ancients, give me strength..." Bannuk prayed before charging.

The fiery behemoth leapt towards Discord with crushing force, but Discord merely evaded and drew the blade across Bannuk's back. The blade bounced harmlessly off the rocky skin, and Discord looked disapprovingly toward the blade.

"That won't do at all..." Discord said looking at the blade and raising it into the light as if to examine it more closely.

Discord then ran a hand over the curved blade, and it became black and jagged, the cutting edge now resembling a saw blade. Discord pricked his finger on one of the blade's teeth and smiled at it.

"More like it..." Discord said with murderous glee.

The spirit of chaos then slashed again at the Barbarian. Bannuk countered the blow before it could meet by using a hammer materialized through his fury and bashing Discord backwards. Before Discord could raise himself off of the ground a fury harpoon sunk into his chest and Bannuk instead of pulling, flicked the chain with his arm, sending Discord flying back into the glass wall. As the harpoon dematerialized, Discord slid down the glass wall leaving a trail of blood.

Bannuk smiled, but then frowned as Discord stood up and snapped his fingers. The hole in his chest fixed itself and Bannuk could hear the bones shifting back into place.

"Come now, you will have to do better than that. You see, this, is immortal..." Discord said gesturing to himself.

"We shall see..." Bannuk said as he readied a fury axe and lobbed it at Discord, who narrowly evaded it. Bannuk took advantage of discord being off balance and charged, slamming his shoulder into Discord and ramming him into the glass wall. Discord coughed up blood as his ribs cracked once more under the force of Bannuk's blows.

The Barbarian began to pummel Discord with his one fist, adding a knee strike to the gut every couple of punches. As Bannuk lay his might into Discord, the spirit of chaos seemed to be taking his beating. That is, until he raised the sword and drove it into Bannuk's side, missing the heart but going through a lung.

Bannuk gritted his teeth and ignored the pain, flexing his muscles to make sure Discord could not retrieve the weapon. Bannuk continued to bash Discord bare handed, each blow becoming more powerful than the last. Bannuk finally ended his barrage as he grabbed Discord's skull and brought it to his knee. The blow sounded with a sickening crack as Discord's head split open.

Bannuk tossed the limp body into the center of the dome. and strode over to it. The Barbarian watched as Discord's body slowly worked itself back together. As more and more got fixed, the healing seemed to slow. Bannuk smiled at this. Discord was not impossible to kill, it just took a lot of effort.

"Seems you are nearing your end..." Bannuk said with a smile as he raised a foot and stomped the ground with terrifying force, causing the ground to break and rumble with his fury. The ground covered itself in flames of hatred as it shook with his might, burning and beating Discord's body as it lay on the ground.

After half a minute the quakes and flames ceased and Discord's body was a mere blackened husk. Bannuk panted from the effort he had exerted and spat out a wad of his blood that burned like lava on the ground. Bannuk watched his blood smolder for a moment before letting his body shrink back to its normal state. Bannuk rubbed his eyes wearily, smearing his own blood across his face. The Barbarian looked down once more to the corpse of Discord.

"You didn't really think it would be that easy did you?" Discord said.

Bannuk turned around and was face to face with Discord, looking as healthy as ever. The spirit of chaos then grabbed the blade in Bannuk's chest and pulled it out, making sure the serrated blade tore through as much bone and tissue as possible on its way out. Discord then plunged the sword in once more, this time making sure to hit his mark.

Bannuk gasped as the sword pierced his heart. He looked down at his chest and put his hand over Discord's as if to steady himself. Bannuk looked back up into Discord's eyes.

"Funny how real an illusion can feel huh? And you fell for it so easily! All I had to do was lie in wait for you to make a mistake. And you did oh so easily..." Discord said with a smile.

Bannuk moved his hand from Discord's to Discord's throat. The spirit of Discord eyed him curiously as his weak grip came over his throat.

"So what you're... saying..." Bannuk said, coughing out mouthfuls of blood, "Is this is the real you?"

Discord's eyes widened as he attempted to free himself from Bannuk's weak grip, only to find it had tightened. Bannuk's grip began to crush down on Discord's throat. Discord's eyes began to fill with panic as he once again grabbed the sword's hilt. Bannuk however had other plans, pulling Discord to the ground, Bannuk held once knee on Discord's chest, and the other on his arm that had the grip of the sword, disabling him from pulling it out.

Discord's mind reeled in horror, how could this monster still move? Its heart had been pierced, and it had been bleeding for quite some time now. Bannuk's grip tightened even further, and Discord's eyes bulged, and began to bleed as he struggled for breath. Discord's vision began to turn black around the edges as he limply flailed his arms against the iron tough arm of the Barbarian.

Bannuk slumped to the side, freeing Discord's arm allowing him to use both hands to pry the grip off of his neck. The spirit of chaos heaved in a breath and coughed as the darkness at the edges of his vision faded. Discord looked down at the now lifeless body of the Barbarian and shuddered. Had the monster been in any better shape it would have actually left discord in a vulnerable state.

"Hate to have seen you in your prime..." Discord mumbled as he picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off.

"Guess we solved the whole Immortal Dilemma though... And like many of my old foes, I still stand as the true immortal." Discord said with a smile.

Discord turned to gloat his victory to the friends of the Immortal King, walking over to the edge of the glass dome. Discord noticed that all four of the others were standing together and had watched their friend die. Discord smiled and waved at them, as if he were a neighbor saying hello.

The Wizard strode up and placed her hand on the glass dome, shaking with rage and sorrow she said something Discord could not hear from the other side of the glass. Discord moved directly in front of her and blew her a mocking kiss. The other three then placed their hands on the Wizard's shoulder, and in a flash of purple light they disappeared form in front of Discord. The spirit of chaos cocked his head in confusion.

"Where did they--" Discord said as a katar blade punched through his chest.

Discord looked down at the weapon that surged with holy light. He attempted to tap into his magic, but found that the power was disabling his somehow.

"You little bitch! You use the power of balance don't you?!" Discord said, incredulous that the same form of energy that the elements of harmony focused with friendship was being used on him.

Arrows pierced Discord and bound him to the ground. The four then surrounded Discord, all of them with grave faces. Discord struggled against the bonds but the power emanating from the blade in his chest he was unable to tap into his chaotic magic.

"Do what you want, you wont stop me by slaying this mortal body, I will merely come back!" Discord screamed into their faces.

"Oh, do not worry. The foes we faced back home were very similar in that regard. But we have methods to deal with beings like you." The Witch Doctor said as she procured a sharp green crystal from her pouch.

"Huh, where on sanctuary did you find that?" Thorne asked as he peered at the soul stone.

"Bannuk actually had it... I did not know why he gave it to me before we left, I suspect he knew he was going to die..." Ayida said shaking her head sadly.

Discord's face twisted into fury, and he was about to make a quip had Ayida not stabbed him through the chest with the crystal. Discord's body writhed against the chains that held him down, screams from multiple voices emanated from the spirit of chaos as his soul was sucked into the small crystal. Ayida put a hand on Discord's shoulder, and let her eyes meet briefly with the fearful ones of Discord, before she yanked the crystal out and Discord turned to ash.

Ayida looked down to the soul stone in her hand and shook her head in disgust. She then looked over to where Bannuk's cooling body lay in a pool of its own blood. Ayida walked over and ran her hand across Bannuk's face, closing his eyes that still held their intent to murder Discord.

Thorne picked up Bannuk's severed arm and brought it over to the rest of his body, laying it where it should be attached, the mighty maul still held firmly in the cold dead hands of the Barbarian.

Vasilisa and Lihua then gathered up the remnants of the Immortal King's legacy, and arranged the armor next to their dead friend. The four remaining Nephilim then circled around their fallen brother in war, and stared solemnly. Ayida knelt down and reached into Bannuk's satchel, retrieving a simple golden ring, and slipping it onto his cold hand.

"Perhaps he will see his wife again now..." Ayida said as she patted Bannuk on the shoulder.

The glass dome that surrounded them burst apart as a beam of light appeared, illuminating Bannuk's body. The three Ancient ones Madawk, Korlic, and Talic stepped into existence circling the friends and the body of Bannuk.

The four remaining Nephilim backed away from their fallen, and allowed the ancient ones to pass. The three Barbarian's who once guarded Mount Arreat towered over the form of the man that so often called them into battle, and had once long ago defeated them, earning access to the mountain.

"It is, as was foreseen..." Madawk said sagely.

"Glory and honor to his name" Talic said with pride.

"Finally, he may return to his loved ones..." Korlic said knowingly.

The three ancient ones then knelt down around Bannuk and each laid their hand on the fallen Barbarian's chest. The light that illuminated Bannuk grew in intensity, and Bannuk slowly lifted off of the ground. The jet black armor that he had worn into battle drifted into the air, and placed itself around Bannuk as it was restored.

Bannuk now fully clad in the armor he had worn before his death, maul still gripped in his lifeless fingers, descended once more to the ground. The moment his boots touched the ground however, the three ancients grabbed hold of him before he could fall. Madawk held his right arm just under the shoulder, and Talic the left. Korlic grabbed his feet, and with the others held Bannuk off the ground.

"What will be the old ones fate?" Ayida asked, voice cracking with the strain of trying to talk in the presence of the mighty guardians.

"He may now be accepted into the gates atop Mount Arreat." Madawk said to the Witch Doctor.

"But... Mount Arreat is destroyed..." Ayida said.

"The mortal plane bears no consequence to that of the spirits. You should know this young Witch Doctor." Madawk continued.

"Come brother, he has waited long enough for this honor. Twice has he defeated the prime evil, and in glorious battle with a god did he finally fall." Talic said to his fellow ancient.

Madawk nodded and all three of the ancient Barbarians let out their war cries as their forms lit up like the sun and faded from the realm. The four nephilim stared at the spot where their friend's body once lay. All that remained was a pool of blood, and a pair of leather tubes, the ones that were usually used to protect scrolls from harm.

Ayida knelt down and picked up both of the tubes, opening the first one. Inside was as expected, a rolled up scroll, Ayida tipped the tube and the scroll slid out. Opening it, Ayida's shoulders dropped as she stared at it.

"What is it?" Thorne asked as he looked over the Witch Doctor's shoulders.

"It is a drawing, of all of us after defeating Diablo..." Ayida said.

The scroll on it held a charcoal drawing Bannuk had done that depicted the five friends beaten and bloody, as they stood over the corpse of the prime evil. The detail on the picture was amazing, a kind of masterpiece they did not expect from their barbaric friend.

Ayida looked at the second scroll tube and handed the scroll in her hands to Thorne so the others could see it. Ayida then procured the second scroll and opened it up, within was another charcoal drawing, this one was of seven different warriors who stood over the form of a demon. In the background of this drawing a large crystal was depicted, and Tyrael was descending.

Ayida gasped in realization as she looked more closely at the largest of the warriors. The large man resembled Bannuk, but without his beard and much, much younger.

"This one depicts him and his old companions slaying Baal in the Worldstone's chamber..." Ayida said.

Ayida noticed something, and pinched the corner with her fingers and rubbed the scroll lightly. A second scroll was stuck to the back of the drawing. Ayida pulled the two apart and noticed this one was not a drawing, but a letter.

Dear Bannuk,

I know you cannot read this, but you no doubt brought it to Malah to read for you. Give the old lady my regards, and let your wife know I wish her the best. I write to you because I have heard how hard life has been for the Barbarian tribes now that the Worldstone has been destroyed. Malah sent me a letter recently telling about how she delivered your daughter who was named after the mother, and I was concerned as to how the child has withstood the tundra. I also would like to extend an invitation to raise her here, I know the Barbarian tribes need you and your wife to lead them in these harsh times, but I can watch over young Anya and teach her myself in the art of combat. You may visit her if you wish, though men are not normally allowed on the Amazonian isles, the elders have permitted a hero like you leeway to the rules. The training will take her into adulthood, and then we will give her provisions to seek you out. Should you accept, have Malah send a letter and I will personally embark to retrieve your daughter.

Sincerely,

Isme

Ayida gasped as she got the the end of the letter, realization plastered on her face.

"What is it?" the Monk asked.

"That is why he wanted to make his name as known as possible. That is why he was so adamant on staying near Tristram after defeating the prime evil..." Ayida said more to herself.

"Get to the point Ayida." Lihua said, losing patience.

"Bannuk's daughter is still alive, and is searching for him. The Amazon he told us about that he fought Diablo in the past with raised his daughter since the north became nearly uninhabitable after the Worldstone's destruction destroyed and ravaged the land." Ayida said eyes wide as she looked at her companions.

The party left Equestria, promising the princess of the sun never to return. When asked upon the whereabouts of Bannuk, they only replied with, 'He is with his wife.' The elements did not understand the notion, but Celestia and Luna understood.

After returning to Sanctuary, on the moor just outside of old Tristram, the Monk snapped the staff over he leg and tossed it down into the ravine as the portal closed, trapping the key to the other dimension between worlds. The spirit of the Cow King appeared with a smile on his face.

"So, I see my revenge is complete..." He laughed.

"What are you on about?" Thorne asked threateningly to the spirit.

"over Twenty years ago that old Barbarian and his friends marched into my territory, and they slaughtered my people. We were only minding our own business and feasting on our prey, the rogues. But they killed us mercilessly, and the Barbarian cut me down as if I were some common demon and not a deity." The cow king said, ending with a harrumph.

"You mean you sent us there, knowing that Bannuk would meet his end in that world?" Ayida said, venom in her voice.

"Of course, why else would I help my enemy, who did not even have the decency to remember about me? Besides, he got what he wanted did he not. I felt his spirit returning to this world and heading for Arreat. you should be happy, everyone wins!" The cow king said as he faded into nothingness, laughing the entire time.

"That leaves a bitter taste in my mouth..." Vasilisa said shaking her head.

The nephilim sat in the tavern in New Tristram, conversing over ale what they should do next.

"I have been following a lead as to where Adria could have gone. Some rumors of Maghda's old cult having a new leader have sprung up, and I can only guess it is Adria attempting once more to raise Diablo." Thorne said to the other three.

"We will need to be careful, Adria will be prepared for us and will no doubt have the demons who still hold loyalty to the prime evils on her side against us..." Ayida warned.

"Perhaps I can be of some help against the demons." A woman's voice said from across the inn.

The four nephilim looked up and spotted the woman. They sat silently, with wide eyes as the woman stood up, revealing just how massive she really was, Towering over everyone else and thickly layered with muscle. Her orange hair hung wildly around her shoulders and down her back. She was heavily armored in plates and chain mail, a massive sword hung on her back, and her heavy metal boots shook the ground in a familiar fashion.

"Well, what do you say?" Asked the giant female.