Ghostly winds blew across a once mighty place, filled with warriors to prove their might and earn some coins along the way. Once upon a time, not so many years ago, this place was known far and wide… The Fighters’ Tournament.
Now, it was a ghost arena. Ever since one of the combatants suddenly went into a berserker’s frenzy after slaying one of the combatants honourably, no one has ever returned to this once grand arena. Its oak wooden walls were completely burnt from the raging fire that ran among its halls and thrones. The silver stones contained either the smoke of the fire, or bloody stains of past victims or even both. Some of its structural frames fell over the years, abandoned and left to rot. To say this place looked almost like Tartarus itself came to burn the Fighters’ Tournament to the ground would an understatement.
The only thing that would come to this arena were the black crows, to pick and peck the remaining burnt fleshes of the corpses that littered the place, be it combatants, guards or even the very audience that used to watch each round with deafening cheers and thunderous applauses. However, it would seem one had returned to this disfigured ghostly place, the one that brought this place to the ground with anger in his eyes and rage in his roars.
Standing in the heartland of the arena, ignoring the crows fighting for scraps, stood a towering reptilian figure. The figure was covered in harden dark scales, his arms held large spikes that were imbedded from the radius all the way to the humerus bones. His crocodile-like tail laid on the ground, staying still as if it was dead. He wore golden tribal armour that hid his bulky torso whereas his shoulder pads helped defend his shoulders as well as remembering this mighty warrior of his past life. Strapped on his back rested two large halberd-like spears with golden blades at both ends. His face was surrounded with multiple scars from previous battles, mostly around his snout, where his sharp silver teeth shun from the sun’s light above.
A former combatant of this tournament and its destroyer; Rhyfel ‘Gold-Blades’ Hunllef.
Rhyfel stood on the very soil where he met the tournament’s final combatant and remembered the battle that took place here. He remembered how it began, with a swing of his tail, and how it ended, with one of his spear through the belly of his worthy foe. Rhyfel also remember the dishonourable thoughts that the audiences were thinking and the fact that he was able to get paid for his fight like he was a dishonourable mercenary. So he slaughtered everyone that laughed, enjoyed or cheered in the arena and his battle. He left the Fighters’ Tournament in flames and buried his honourable opponent near the border of a local woodland, giving a silent prayer in honour and respect for the battle they fought in.
Rhyfel returned here because he felt like he was drawn here, as if the Old Divines of his people told him to be here. Why? He did not know. But he guessed it was because he should pay homage and respect to all those who died in the carnage, as well as those who fought with honour and pride.
Rhyfel knelt down on one of his leg, placed both claws together and gave a silent prayer for those who died here.
“Tiichi nomenes batobot slathalina ios l'gra vur slathalina ihk svabol astahii siofmea jahus harkt” Rhyfel whispered in his native language of Cymraeg.
As Rhyfel prayed, a storm settled in the sky, followed by another being entering the arena. Thunder crackled on each hoofstep the mysterious figure made.
“I can sense it…” The mysterious figure said behind the reptile’s back. “An awful lot of blood has been shed here.”
Rhyfel broke from his prayer and turned behind him to see who was talking. Standing at the edge of the stone ring was a towering unicorn stallion. His body was as black as tar, decorated in scaled armour. The armour looked to be reptilian, similar to the Roa’cals.
The sight nearly disgusted Rhyfel. “What is this?” Rhyfel growled as he stood up to his full height.
The stallion remained as silent and still as a statue, with only grey, dying mane and tail flowing in the breeze. His dull, dead eyes locked onto Rhyfel’s.
“Are you the one who has shed all of this blood?” The stallion asked.
This perplexed Rhyfel, for how could this mysterious pony just assume that one being did that? None but he and some who lived from his attack knew about this and Rhyfel knew for a fact that this stallion was not here during that baleful day.
”One might ask that, what of it? Strange one?” The reptilian titan asked in response, glaring daggers at the stallion with predator eyes.
The stallion slowly moved forward, drawing a sword from behind his back. It was a large-broadsword, just as dark as the dark body that held it. Small, red letters and symbols, etched into the black steel, glowed.
“I, Lord Thanatus, wish to battle you.” The stallion declared. “If you are capable of such damage, and can pass my test, you’d be certainly a worthy piece of my collection.”
”What test? What collection? And Thanatus honestly think Thanatus can defeat Rhyfel? It almost insults Rhyfel, Rhyfel’s here to respect the dead and the dead’s honour, not for some test. What test!? What collection!?”
“The test: A battle to the death. The collection: My master’s army of the undead, in which I command. I am, as well, a warrior of great power, for do not fear for you honour to be stained by my mighty blade.”
Rhyfel narrowed his eyes from Thanatus’s words. Undead? Master’s army? Rhyfel smelt something wrong with Thanatus and now he knows; he tampered with dark powers, dark magic.
Rhyfel drew his spears and took a battle stance as he growled fearlessly. “Thanatus plays with powers beyond the control of mortals?! Thanatus bargains with False Gods, same False Gods that tried to overthrow Old Divines?! Thanatus is a fool to bargain with False Gods and must be a weakling to accept False Gods’ offer!”
Up to this moment, Thanatus’s face had been mostly stoic, and unmoving. His body was unshivered and calmed. But at this moment, something snapped inside him. His face turned tense, and his gnarled horn begun to glow a dull, dead red.
This was an insult.
“I have seen ‘pure truth’, I know what is what.” Thanatus coldly proclaimed. “My master is a true god, much more than any cheap wood carving your cold-blooded kind has carved. My master, Sanctus, has given me powers unimaginable, including the ‘pure truth’ that I seek more of.”
Rhyfel responded with mighty Roa’cal roar, how dare Thanatus insults his people and his Old Divines. Such act is most dishonourable.
“Then Rhyfel shall call upon Svaust, Chief Goddess of War, to kill Thanatus’ False God Sanctus. Thanatus is not the first to insult the Roa’cal people and will not be the last. Call upon Thanatus’ False God, for Rhyfel shall send Thanatus to Sanctus, Hofiba di vi Deevdru!”
As Rhyfel spun his blades around with speed and strength, Thanatus remained still. Slowly, the stallion pierced the ground with his sword, and kneeled before it.
“Make peace with whatever you believe is worth valve.” Thanatus warned his rival before speaking a prayer of his own.
The darkening sky gave Lord Thanatus comfort, as he spoke into the sword, “Sanctus, my master, your ‘truth’ has lead us to a new addition to our army. I call upon your power, to draw forth the wandering souls and use them to bring forth victory.”
Thanatus slowly rose from his place and stood at the ready. His sword magically lifted from the ground and was held at the prime of attack.
“Juanth Ithquantic, jennu Rhyfel dastudr!!!” Rhyfel bellowed as he raised his head up to the sky and gave a booming roar. As if fate heard his roar, the sky began to pour rain down upon the two beings.
“I’ll be sure to assign you and whatever of your ‘honoured’ kind that lay here as cannon fodder.” Thanatus declared. The sky responded with a bolt of lightning that struck a nearby statue.
The two warriors charged at one another as the nearby statue fell into tiny rubble from the bolt of lightning. Rhyfel’s powerful legs dug deep into the soil, leaving a trail of large lizard-like footprints. Thanatus held his blade tightly, aiming at the Roa’cal’s armour chestplate with the hope of running Rhyfel through with the might of his sword.
As soon the two were at striking range from one another, Rhyfel held his spear in front of him in a X-shape style as he saw Thanatus’ stance and knew where he was aiming at. Thanatus, who thought little of Rhyfel’s weaponry and how he thought it was nothing compare to his broadsword, decide to try and break the spears to prove his sword was superior than that of Rhyfel’s.
When to sword clashed with the two halberd-like spears, with enough strength that it sent a small shockwave to blow away some dusts and scared the crows away, Thanatus’ thought of broken spears were shattered from what he saw. The spears were strong enough to hold back the raw power of his black-steel broadsword, enough to deflect Thanatus’ attack.
“Impressive!” Thanatus said in surprise. “Your stopping power is greater than I expected, but can you take on-”
Thanatus stopped his speech when Rhyfel’s harden skull head-butted the stallion right onto his snout, causing the stallion’s head to be swung back from the sheer force. With his guard down, Rhyfel then used his arms, armed with large spikes, and bashed Thanatus’s chestplate like a battering ram to a castle door, winding the stallion from the attack.
Finally, with speed and stamina, Rhyfel swung around to use his tail like a fail steel mace to send Thanatus flying midair through the arena on the left. Thanatus’ flying came to a sudden end when his back, as well as the back of his head, smashed into a stone column with such force that it almost toppled the weaken column to the ground.
Rhyfel turned to face Thanatus, who by now was only his knees and was about to get up. Rhyfel went on the defensive, holding his spear tightly, one pointing at Thanatus whilst the other was held close to Rhyfel’s chest.
Lord Thanatus slowly lifted himself back up, an audible crack snapping from his spine. Darkened blood and saliva drooled from the stallion, staining his weakened armour.
Thanatus stared at Rhyfel, thinking to himself: This opponent is tougher than I thought. He reminds me of me before I discovered “pure truth”. This style paired with such power has to be observed before I make a move on the zealot.
Thanatus slowly rose from his place and slowly approached Rhyfel. The two fighters locked eyes.
”Giving up so early from a swing of Roa’cal tail?” Rhyfel asked, a toothy grin plastered on his face. “If Thanatus were a true warrior, Thanatus had at least give a fight worth honouring. Then again, that’s what Thanatus gives when dealing with False Gods”
“...” Thanatus whispered something under his breath.
”Svabo-”
A sudden magical force blasted into the Roa’cal, launching him into another pillar. Rhyfel got to his feet quickly and turned to Thantus.
Thanatus was now surrounded in a weaving veil of dark magic. Mystic vines spread across the floor around the wraith stallion, sapping the blood throughout the arena. Thatus’s sword hovered before him, glowing like a red star.
“This is the power of my master.” Thanatus declared, stabbing the sword into his ground.
A string of lightning bolts struck down across the arena, blasting sand and debris left and right.
Two swirling pillars of darkness formed at Thanatus’s sides. Rhyfel tried to approach the stallion, but a powerful aura kept him at bay. All he could do was watch as the pillars sucked up the debris, fallen weapons, and buried corpses that were scattered across the arena. The dual tornados begun to emit a crimson pulse, like the pulse of a heartbeat.
The pillars of dark vanished shortly after, leaving behind something unthinkable. A pair of Earth pony stallions stood alongside Thanatus, standing roughly the same height as Rhyfel. Both were incredibly buff and armed to the teeth with weapons. Stone and metal armour covered their bodies. Exposed skin and fur shown a sickening dark green, slowly decaying.
“Minions,” Thanatus commanded the two soldiers. “Kill him.”
“For Thanatus!” The two stallions roared.
Drawing their biggest weapons, the two soldiers charged at Rhyfel. Rhyfel tightened his grip on his blades and blocked the two’s beginning slam attack. The force the undead soldiers exerted onto their weapons was incredible, as Rhyfel could feel his back ache and snap from the combined power.
As the three remained in blade-lock, Lord Thanatus slowly circled around the arena, dragging his sword in the ground below.
”Coward Jivi! Using the dead as proxies, disgracing the deads’ honour for Thanatus own personal gain? And Thanatus call Thanatus a warrior...” Rhyfel hissed.
“As it does not matter to my master the means in which I use, as long as his vision is achieved,” Thanatus told him coldly. “It also doesn’t matter to me, as long as I receive his ‘pure truth’.”
Rhyfel eventually found the strength to fight back, and shoved the soldiers out of the way. He threw one of his blades at the soldier to the left, stunning him. He then engaged the soldier to the right in a one on one duel.
The zombie soldier and the Roa’cal traded blows left and right, with Rhyfel dodging and the soldier simply taking the powerful strikes. Before Rhyfel could deal a finishing blow, the soldier grabbed one of his clubs and smacked Rhyfel upside the head with it. The reptile's body bent over backwards, surely to fall.
“I’ve won.” Thanatus said.
But that was not the case.
Rhyfel, despite all laws of gravity, pulled himself forward, and chomped at the stallion’s nose. Rhyfel then rammed his spear up the zombie’s chin, cutting all the way through the brain and out through the top of the scalp.
“What?!” Thanatus exclaimed at the sight.
Rhyfel then sliced off the undead’s head, killing the monster.
“For Thanatus!” A roar echoed across the arena.
Rhyfel looked over and saw the second soldier charging at him, his spear still lodged in his throat. The warrior acted accordingly, and stabbed his other spear into the stallion’s neck. He then grabbed both blades and scissored them across each other, slicing the soldier’s neck in two.
The Roa’cal bellowed in victory at the center of the arena, followed by a heavy rise in rainfall.
Suddenly, a stabbing pain pierced his side. Rhyfel roared in pain, falling to the ground with the weapon still in his side. In the corner of the eye, he could see that it was Thanatus’s black sword, but much, much longer than before.
Thanatus could be seen all the way at the wall of the area, holding the hilt of his weapon with an outstretched hoof.
“This is my eternally shape shifting sword.” Thanatus told his rival. “It was made by my master, and houses my master’s voice. It can magically transform into any object of any shape, weight, or length.”
”That was a cowardly attack!” Rhyfel hissed, his blood and mind boiling in rage.
“It is called a setup.” Thanatus calmly retorted.
A new wave of hatred flowed through Rhyfel. It was pure. After Thanatus’s constant disrespect of he believed was warrior honour, Rhyfel felt no mercy for his “god’s” henchman.
With waves of the sword’s dark magic pumping through his body and not even half of his original stamina gone, Rhyfel was ready to slaughter.
Rhyfel rapidly climbed back onto his feet and whipped out the sword from Thanatus’s hoof, throwing it to the side of the arena. He then grabbed his blades and charged at Lord Thanatus, not without a weapon.
Thanatus, thinking on the spot, projected a shield between him and Rhyfel. Rhyfel laughed at the sight of the shield, Thanatus will need more than a shield as the Roa’cal began wailing on it with his spears.
The shield almost immediately cracked under the sheer power of the Roa’cal. Thanatus had to move fast. With the last of his magic remaining after the necromantic spell, Thanatus called upon his sword to return. He grabbed the sword with his magic and pulled it back as fast as he could.
The black blade zipped across the arena, but Rhyfel’s attacks on the shield were even faster.
A gaping hole then appeared in Thanatus’s shield, and the spear was only halfway there.
”Rhyfel’s coming in, and Rhyfel’s going to cut Thanatus into giblets!” Rhyfel taunted.
The shield immediately after collapsed, and Lord Thanatus was out in the open.
”Die, Slave of the False Gods!” Rhyfel commanded, swinging down his blades with all of his might.
SHINK!
Two pieces of sharp black metal fell onto the ground with a metallic clang.
Thanatus’s sword came in just at the nick of time, extending its blade to shield the attack. Although it was cut, the sword saved Thanatus from a crippling blow.
A second hilt formed from the side of the blade, reaching out for Lord Thanatus. He grabbed it with his hoof, and the sword reformed back to its previous form.
Thanatus teleported to the center of the area with his sword in tow, leaving the Roa’cal at the edge. He then lunged the sword forward, its blade blitzing towards Rhyfel. The tip stabbed into the wall, just shy of the reptilian snout.
“You most certainly have the speed advantage over me, and your technique is most impressive.” Thanatus stated. “But can your speed and technique beat this?”
Thanatus slowly began to rotate his sword around the arena. The tip tore through the circular wall of the arena as it travelled, slowly gaining speed and momentum.
The spinning hand of death made its way back to Rhyfel. He ducked under the swing, with the blade only grazing his armour. The sword gained speed, and was back for another slash. Rhyfel ducked again, but Thanatus anticipated it, and lowered the swing of the spiraling blade. A chuck of the Roa’cal’s long tail was scraped off, sending pain coursing through his body.
Burning with fury, Rhyfel got up and charged towards Thanatus. He jumped over the next attack and partially deflected the following one with his blades. He eventually reached the wraith, and slammed him in the side. Thanatus tumbled over, but regained his hoofing quickly.
Thanatus returned the blade’s length to normal and engaged with Rhyfel in close-quarters swordplay. His magic had dwindled at this point, and had to rely on his raw strength to hold out against Rhyfel. It was a losing attack, but he had no other option.
Thanatus knew fully well that his strength was nothing compare to this veteran of war and honour as the Roa’cal swung his blades without pity or mercy. The two then locked blades again, pushing their weight onto each other, hoping to gain the upper hand.
Suddenly, as the two faced each other, Rhyfel in a flash opened his jaws that contained dozens of razor sharp teeth and chomped down onto Thanatus’ left shoulder, right into his manubrium and lower vertebra bones as if the scaled armour was made of paper.
Thanatus loudly hissed in pain as he placed left hoof over Rhyfel’s snout to tried to remove him, but the Roa’cal’s teeth was already buried deep into his flesh and was trying to break the manubrium bone in half.
Thanatus broke the lock between the blades to use it against Rhyfel, but this is was what the Roa’cal wanted. With Thanatus’ blade not locked with Rhyfel’s spears and the stallion’s chest wide open, Rhyfel launched his spears right into the lower body of Thanatus, going through his armour and into his abdominises. Now yelling in pain, Thanatus felt himself being lifted by the spears and Rhyfel’s jaw, feeling waves of pain through his body during the slow process. Once the stallion’s hooves were off the ground by a few feet, Rhyfel snarled as he swung his body around and threw Thanatus towards a nearby column.
As Thanatus flew midair, he lost his grip on his black steel sword. It flew in the air and landed near the entrance of the arena. Darkened blood began to pour out of his shoulder and belly like a water fountain. Once Thanatus landed back first on the stony column, flopping down onto the ground. Rhyfel strapped both of his spears back onto his back and ran on all four towards the bleeding Thanatus.
Thanatus slowly got back up on his hooves, his body searing in pain. He scanned for his blade before quickly seeing the charging Rhyfel gaining ever closer. He tried to defend himself with what remained of his magic, however Rhyfel was quicker as he tackled Thanatus back against the column. Rhyfel then began to rapidly and brutally pummel the bleeding Thanatus, whacking his face with his strong claws, punching viciously into the beaten chest and tearing the weaken armour apart from the bitten shoulder.
After the brutal beating, Rhyfel picked up Thanatus by the neck and threw him to the left with a roar of pure anger, making Thanatus land on the bitten shoulder with a massive cracking sound.
Thanatus tried to move both of his arms, but the left side was unable to move due the fact that the manubrium was completely broken. However, thanks to Rhyfel’s throw, Thanatus could see his sword and it wasn’t far from where he was laying. Painfully, Thanatus tried to crawl towards his sword, hoping to reach it to defend himself from the Roa’cal. Speaking of a Roa’cal, Rhyfel walked up to Thanatus, giving a strong kick to Thanatus’ side that made him roll onto his aching back. Rhyfel stomped the stallion’s chest with his right foot and with his raptor talons, held Thanatus down.
Although the heavy rain beaten down on Thanatus’ face, Thanatus looked at Rhyfel with no emotions or even remorse.
“You may be strong, but you and your kind are nothing compared to me.” Thanatus said with enough venom to slay a dragon. “Make peace to whatever illusions you have now, before falling to the King of Nightmares before you.”
“The Old Divines are more than just Roa’cal belief,” Rhyfel snarled. “Old Divines guides all when the Old Divines defeated the False Gods, the same False Gods Thanatus follow blindly.”
Rhyfel gave a single punch across Thanatus’ snout before grabbing it with one claw and with the other, grabbing Thanatus’ horn.
“But Rhyfel will show Thanatus what happens when one puts one’s trust into the Old Divines and happens when one bargains with False Gods!”
Suddenly, Rhyfel began to pull Thanatus horn upwards, using Thanatus’ snout as a helping grip and Rhyfel’s foot holding onto the stallion’s chest to keep him steady. Thanatus tried to break away and removing the Roa’cal’s claw over his horn, knowing full well what would if it would to break. But his effort was in vain as Rhyfel continued to pull Thanatus’ horn with his raw strength, showing he’s not holding anything back. Thanatus remained silent after his final decree. He tried to break away but Rhyfel would not have any of that as he could see the horn moving as darken blood started to slowly rose to the surface around the horn.
With a proud roar from Rhyfel and a lone, pain-riddled muffle from Thanatus, the horn was now ripped out of Thanatus’ skull as blood poured out like a iron dam, causing Thanatus yell through Rhyfel’s claw in pain and agony. He could feel his connection to his master dying from the removal of his horn, losing his ability to wield magic. As this happened, the stallion’s sword dark runic symbols slowly faded away, making it look like a normal broadsword made from black steel.
Rhyfel threw the horn over his shoulder, not caring about it as it flew right into the heartland of the arena with slowly growing dark aura. Rhyfel then let go of Thanatus’ horn and drew his spears out of behind his back. He brought them into a scissor and placed both blades next to Thanatus’ neck, ready to decapitate his head from his body whilst the horn started to glow bright and shaking uncontrollably.
“Rhyfel hopes that-”
Rhyfel was interrupted by an explosion from the horn, creating a huge hole in the heartland of the bloody arena. Rhyfel turned around, quickly using his spears in a defensive stance, giving Thanatus enough time to move and reclaim his sword. As Rhyfel faced the huge hole created by the horn, Thanatus grabbed his sword and used it to help him get up on his hooves.
Rhyfel walked to the center of the area and inspected the blast. He was mildly surprised to see that it was nothing more than a tiny explosion.
Rhyfel, seeing that there was nothing but the hole, turned to see that Thanatus was not on the ground but rather standing up on his hooves and holding his sword tightly. Thanatus may not be able to wield his magic, but that doesn’t mean he’s gonna allow Rhyfel to win this battle. So as Rhyfel took a defensive stance, Thanatus held his sword with his remaining strength and pointed the tip at his foe.
Is this another extending attack? Rhyfel asked himself. Whatever angle Thanatus blade will turn, Rhyfel can surely counter it.
“As much of a worthy foe you are…” Lord Thanatus said. “...You really don’t understand the concept of a setup move.”
Before Rhyfel could react, Thanatus stabbed his sword into the ground. In the matter of moments, a huge, metal wall rose from the ground. Rhyfel was trapped on all sides by thick, black steel.
“Svabol wer-?!” Rhyfel gasped.
Thanatus’s voice echoed throughout the wall. “My eternal shape-shifting sword can assume any form and any mass, including something as thin as twine wrapped around the hilt. I ran a string of the sword all around the arena while you were distracted with my soldiers. When the moment came, my string immediately turned into a wall, a cage of my design and will.”
Rhyfel was dumbfounded. How could Thanatus use this baleful magic?! Rhyfel ripped off Thanatus’ horn!
“This is the power of my master,” Thanatus said, as if reading his foe’s mind. “His power is channeled through the blade I wield. He shall take over.”
Thanatus pulled the sword from the ground and aimed it at Rhyfel. The runes not only regained their red glow, but shined far brighter than before. The string connecting the sword to the wall transformed into a linked chain. It slowly wrapped itself around Thanatus’s hoof as Thanatus’s body became veiled in swirling dark magic.
A red light pierced out from the dark swirl and pierced Rhyfel’s eye. A rush of fear felt as if it was being installed in the Roa’cal’s being.
The dark veil blew away from Thanatus, revealing his unleashed form. His body, once covered in piercings and holes, was covered in a black shade. His eyes turned from a dull grey to a hellish ember, burning rampantly. The stallion cracked a smile, and a cackle rose from the reformed Thanatus.
“You certainly have been a pain in my side, forcing me to bring forth Sanctus’s being into this world, but no more!” He spoke, his voice composed of what sounded like a hundred tortured souls.
Thanatus charged at Rhyfel, his sword twisting and turning. Rhyfel held his blades at the ready, aimed to strike before Thanatus did. Thanatus raised his sword in the air upon coming in range.
This was the moment. Rhyfel lunged forward. But before the hit could land, Thanatus suddenly vanished before Rhyfel with a single bound. The Roa’cal then felt a searing pain slice into his back. Rhyfel loudly hissed in pain and jumped forward and away from the stab.
He turned and looked up to see Thanatus, hovering over the center of the area and above the steel walls. Leathery wings had sprouted from the wraith’s fading body, flapping menacingly in the storm.
“I’ll leave you to my sword.” Thanatus declared.
Quickly, the metal wall reformed into a dome, sealing Rhyfel inside and leaving Thanatus outside. Spikes then sprouted from the steel, aimed at Rhyfel.
Lord Thanatus gently glided to one of the remaining audience chairs still in one piece and seated himself. Overlooking his metal dome, Thanatus tightly clutched the sword and chain connected to it, inserting his will into the dome.
He could see it all. The spikes in the dome sprung to life and grew instantly, stabbing the arena floor. Rhyfel could only struggle, as thousands of metal harpoons showered onto him, stabbing every body part he had.
Slowly, the dome begun to shrink, producing more spikes to fire at Rhyfel inside.
Thanatus thought to himself as he watched his metal trap collapse tighter and tighter, There’s no way he could escape. The ground is too tough to dig through, and there’d be no way he could dodge all of my spikes.
Finally, the dome had shrunk to only about two metres in diameter. A puddle of blood leaked from under the metal. Inside that sphere of death was Rhyfel, trapped with hundreds of black spines. Thanatus smiled, thinking he was victorious.
But that was no further from the truth.
Suddenly, a large chunk of the dome was blown off from the structure. The spike tips were chopped off, but certainly not from any blade’s impact.
“Wha-” Thanatus gasped.
Another piece of the dome broke off. Finally, the entire dome shattered into a hundred black shards. Standing at the center of the arena was Rhyfel.
Rhyfel held his spears in his claws with black stains surrounding the edges of the blades. Rhyfel, who fought like a warrior, looked like he was truly the monster in the arena. His tail wagged rapidly like a cat seeing its prey, never minding the aching pain that raged through his nerves. Rhyfel’s talons buried deep into the ground as it someone forced them in with a hammer. The blooded wounds that poured crimson liquids, halted their rash as if there was some kind of invisible shield around them. Rhyfel’s jaw was opened midway, hot steam blew out of the reptilian’s throat as if his inner body was hotter than lava. But what was most noticeable was his eyes, glaring into Thanatus’ hellish ember eyes. His sharp lizard pupil was almost invisible as it was just a thin line surround by a white sea.
“He was trapped inside a dome and had every inch of his body ripped apart by razor metal!” Thanatus exclaimed. “Yet he still stands…”
”Wux re loex!!!” Rhyfel screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Hmmm… A strong will, perhaps? Certainly a formidable piece in any army,” Thanatus said to himself.
Thanatus took off from his overview and glided over the arena, resetting his blade to its base form and prepared to attack. He trusted his blade down into the arena. Upon reaching the ground, the blade split into four others, snaking around Rhyfel.
Rhyfel deflected the attacks with uncontrolled fury, stabbing and slicing at the blades as if there were snakes needed to be beheaded.
Rhyfel eventually reached the base of the blade. He snapped the blade with his bare fist, stopping the four small blades mid-attack.
The reptilian warlord looked up to Thanatus, hovering above and preparing his next attack.
”Thanatus will not getting away from Rhyfel’s wrath!” Rhyfel yelled.
He then chucked up his spears at Lord Thanatus, each blade hitting a wing. Thanatus’s wings quickly dissipated into smoke, and the stallion wraith landed back in the arena. The golden blades fell onto the ground between Thanatus and Rhyfel.
Rhyfel blitzed for the spears. As he extended his claws out for them, Thanatus’s black blade stabbed into both of them. Rhyfel was pushed back by the sword as Thanatus slowly approached. Rhyfel broke off the end of the sword and dove for his spears, now right in front of his foe.
Lord Thanatus swung his sword down at Rhyfel, slicing at the back of the nape. Rhyfel swung around, whipping his tail below Thanatus’s hooves. As the King of Nightmares fell, Rhyfel got up and raised his spears in the air. Thanatus lifted his sword in the air and caught the chop. However, the sheer, unrestrained power the Roa’cal exerted on dual blades slowly cut through Thanatus’s.
CRACK!
A small crack suddenly appeared on the hilt and pommel of Thanatus’s sword. The sword had reached the limit of its durability, and was slowly breaking apart. The stallion couldn’t hold off Rhyfel’s spears for much longer.
If the sword broke, Lord Thanatus was good as gone.
”Prepare to perish, and burn in the Uoinota!” Rhyfel roared.
“Not, yet.” Thanatus retorted.
He then kicked up a puddle of mud and sand into the reptilian eyes of his rival, temporarily blinding him and sending him back a step. Rhyfel instantly wiped off the dirt and regained his vision, only to lose it once more, as Thanatus’s blade stabbed into his right eye.
”Rhyfel’s eye!” Rhyfel screamed, wiping away at the gore his new hole produced. “Even if Rhyfel go blind, Rhyfel will make sure Thanatus pay for this!”
Rhyfel slowly regained vision in his left eye and his combat stance. Even after being stabbed in the eye, he was ready to fight to the death. He threw his spears forward in a final chopping attack.
But his attack was cut short by now two of Thanatus’s black swords, connected by a chain at their pommels. Rhyfel attempted to overpower him, but with his swords’ power now separated into two blades, despite Thanatus’s sword being weakened, Thanatus stood his ground.
“One of these swords is a fake.” Thanatus taunted him. “You will have to chose one of the two to smash to beat me. If you chose correctly, and attack the real one, both will shatter, and only my heart will remain to tie me to this world. If you chose wrong, then you’ll do virtually nothing to the real weapon, in which I will slay you. Now chose.”
”Thanatus think Thanatus has won? Ha! Rhyfel will win, Slave of the False Gods!” Rhyfel taunted back.
“We shall see, now chose. I am most certain you will reach your inevitable demise.” Thanatus hissed.
The heavy rain continued to pour down from the darkened sky, and lightning tore apart the ruins of the arena. The two waited in anticipation for what's to come next, giving all they had remaining to keep the other at bay and kill them. Everything hinged on what the Roa’cal would do in the final second, the climax of their battle to the death.
Finally, Rhyfel, Roa’cal of the Kin-Batllons Clan, chose.
Rhyfel glared at the two swords and pondered on which sword is real and which is not.
Ulhar, Goddess of Sighting. Rhyfel thought as he asked for guidance. Aid Rhyfel, aid Rhyfel in giving a sign on which baleful swords is true and not an illusion.
As if his prayer was answered, a lightning bolt struck the right side of overseeing stage, where once the announcer would call, yell and proclaim winners. Rhyfel took this as a sign and hope that his prayer was true.
With a roar, Rhyfel rushed towards Thanatus, his spears spinning around in his claws. Thanatus stood his ground, believing the Roa’cal will chose the wrong sword. But what he found out, broke that belief.
With all the strength left within him, Rhyfel raised his spears and smashed the right sword out of the stallion’s right hoof. The raw force not only sent the sword flying in the air, but broke into three pieces, flying in different directions. As the three pieces of the blade flew, Rhyfel sent a kick so strong that it sent Thanatus down onto the ground with loud thud. The broken blade, once they had landed on the ground, started to fade like dust in the winds.
Thanatus laid on the ground, hissing in pain as his connection to his master was so thin that it couldn’t be felt within him. He tried to get up, but the pain around his body was too much to bear.
My “pure truth”, Master, Thanatus thought weakly as he looked to the dark, raining sky in defeat. You promised me... Where is it?
The ember flares in Thanatus’s eyes faded, leaving behind a broken stare into nothingness.
As Thanatus laid there in failure, the stallion could hear the stomping sound of a mighty warrior, heading ever so closely towards him. He saw at the corner of his eyes, the victorious Roa’cal warlord snarling at him with one of his spears on his back and the other in his right claw.
Still snarling, Rhyfel processed to lash at Thanatus’ neck with his left claw, choking him as he was lifted up without mercy by Rhyfel. Rhyfel held Thanatus at arm length, looking at him with no pity as the stallion showed no sign of resistance.
Thanatus looked with debilitate eyes into the one vigorous eye that was Rhyfel’s, seeing how this is going and knowing that this was out of his hooves.
“Impossible, how is it that you won? Everything was perfect…” Thanatus said venomously, yet weak. “Go ahead, I do not fear death, not by your claws, not by any.”
“It is not Rhyfel Thanatus needs to fear, no,” Rhyfel agreed, much to Thanatus’ discomfort.
Thanatus knew what Rhyfel meant, and deep inside his being, he feared for once in his afterlife.
The Roa’cal then brought the stallion’s face up close to his.
He told him, “It is Marfedelom, God of the Dead and Decay, that Thanatus needs to fear. For Marfedelom doesn’t like it went the deads are raised to fight and not laid to rest, just like what Thanatus did.”
Rhyfel looked at the edges of the arena to see the row of sharp spikes, the same spikes the arena used to make sure no combatants fled from their opponents and they were still has sharp as the day before the destruction of the Fighters’ Tournament. So Rhyfel headed towards the nearest spike, dragging Lord Thanatus across the wet blood stained ground. Thanatus didn’t even struggle, he’d accepted his defeat and knowing Rhyfel’s sense of honour, he was walking out of this alive.
When Rhyfel reached the row of spikes, he raised Thanatus and looked into his eyes again.
“Rhyfel hopes that Marfedelom devours Thanatus painfully and slowly…. That is the only honour Thanatus shall have before meeting Uoinota’s flames and Uoinota’s Djinabanor.”
“Ha…” Thanatus spoke in his final defiance against his foe. “Whatever this Uoinota is and its Djinabanor is, I surely have seen worse.”
“Uoinota is the Prison of the False Gods and Djinabanor is something far worse than any False Gods… And Thanatus better pray to Thanatus’ False Gods, for Djinabanor likes to play with slaves that failed slaves’ masters.”
Thanatus’ defining spirit shattered from Rhyfel’s explanation, not because his words sounds haunting, but because there wasn’t any trace of Rhyfel lying or reading from some manuscript. Those words felt true and this Djinabanor is awaiting for him in Uoinota.
Before Thanatus could think more of this horror, Rhyfel raised him high as possible and slammed him into the sharp steel spike. The spike pierced through Thanatus’ armour, his flesh, his chest and burst through his body with darkened blood pouring out like a waterfall. Thanatus yelled in agony as he slid down the spike like food being stabbed by an iron folk. He slowly rose to look at the spike through his body, only to find a frightening truth.
On the tip of the spike, with a trial of his blood dripping down with the heavy rain, was his beating heart. It was as black as the blood and tar produced. A thin, black mist sublimated from the organs, reaching for the sky.
That was my final tie to my master… Thanatus thought, solemn. My soul has been left to rot with this body, and go on to whatever awaits me. What a cruel master you are...
Suddenly, his heart started to glow a dark aura like that of his horn. But his heat glowed, so too did the rest of his body. His body shivered violently whilst Rhyfel watched in disgust, seeing how much dark magic was within this stallion. However, Rhyfel remembered when the horn acted like this and knew what was about to happen. Strapping his spear back onto his back, rejoining the twin spears, Rhyfel ran to the exit on all four and ran as fast as his injured body could.
Thanatus’ body continued to shiver violently, but his head kept still. He looked up to the darken sky and began to see something in that sky that was unlike anything he’d seen before. He thought that this was his mind seeing things as he grew closer to death. But in the sky, he saw some of the dark clouds forming into something large, something that almost looked like a Roa’cal much like Rhyfel. But instead of wearing armour, it wore only black robes and instead of claws, it had long scythes that could cut a mountain in half. Its head held many draconic horns, some carved like rams and some shaped like greatswords. Its eyes and throat contained purplish and yellowish flames, looking down at Thanatus.
Looking at this being in the clouds, Thanatus could only come with one idea of what this was.
This was Marfedelom, and his eyes and jaws contained the flames of Uoinota he’ll use when devouring Thanatus.
Suddenly, the cloudy image of Marfedelom flew down towards with a roar only Thanatus could hear. Thanatus screamed in furious rage, not wanting to be devoured by this Old Divine of Rhyfel’s people. That was until his heart exploded, along with himself.
The explosion was large and powerful, taking half of the burnt Fighters’ Tournament along with Thanatus. Rhyfel, although out of the arena, felt the shockwave of the blast pushing him into a oak tree. Rhyfel looked back at the Fighters’ Tournament, seeing what remained of the place.
What was left of the arena was covered in debris and ash. The audience seats on the right side were completely destroyed from the blast. What’s left standing, had debris falling down upon them, making even more things fall. Even though the rain poured down mercilessly, magical dark flames started to burn the remaining wooden structures. To say that it looked like a comet just dropped from the stars would be one way of describing it.
Rhyfel watched this from a distance, seeing the damage Thanatus’ magic caused. As he watched, he then began to wonder if this was why he returned to this place, to stop Lord Thanatus, a Slave of the False Gods, from raising the dead here and adding them to Thanatus’ collection. Whatever the reason is, Rhyfel believed it is time to leave this place for good and to never return here again, letting the past stay in the past.
He began to head away from the burning destroyed Fighters’ Tournament, seeing his purpose here done and a dark monster destroyed.
As Rhyfel walked and the tournament was far in the distance, he stopped in his track like he forgotten something. He turned his head to the left, where a patted soil grave rested, sheltered by a branch of ash tree. To outsiders, all they would see is a random grave in the middle of nowhere, with a pair of green tinted goggles resting on top. But to this Roa’cal, he saw an honourable opponent and like him, was one of the last combatants that fought in the Fighters’ Tournament.
Rhyfel gave a respectful nod, along with a friendly smile. He said something under his breath, before continuing his journey. Rhyfel marched up the nearby hill that overlooked a large, nearly unpopulated valley, filled with beauty woodlands, healthy greenfields and large mountain borders. It almost reminded the old Roa’cal his homeland, although there wasn’t much sand and it doesn’t rain that often, unlike this land known as Equestria.
But that’s one of the reasons why Rhyfel liked this place, it’s somewhat the same like his homeland, only that he doesn’t know what he’ll find here and that he’s worthy opponent was out there somewhere to give Rhyfel that honourable death.
Until that day comes, Rhyfel will keep on searching and will keep on marching throughout his journey here, in the lands of Equestria.
