Welnar awakens to the faint sound of humming. He rubs his eyes, slowly sitting up and leaving his tent… The sight he sees isn’t what he expects though. It’s still night? And the campfire is still burning… No wait, even weirder is someone sitting at it! They’re humming what sounds like a lullaby, facing Welnar’s tent yet their gaze is fixed on the fire. Welnar cautiously approaches, and eventually the person turns to look at him. It’s a woman, but they look almost like royalty. They wear a white robe decorated with strands of gold running along it, with similarly white hair in a fancy bun. “Who are you..?” Welnar asks.

  The person doesn’t respond. They have an almost ethereal glow, with a bit of an unnerving presence. Welnar glances at Kali’s tent… Why isn’t she up? A bead of sweat forms on Welnar’s brow.

  “H-hey, answer me!” He says, trying to act assertive. The person tilts their head slightly…

  “Stop.” They say, the woman’s voice soft like silk. Yet it only unnerves Welnar further… Something is wrong.

  “Stop? S-stop what?” Welnar says.

  The woman does a 180, revealing a horrifying sight. Her back is… Not her back. It is instead a monstrosity of flesh and gore in the shape of a human, as if two people had been melded into one from their backs. Welnar steps back from shock, and the… Thing, shudders as it speaks.

  “Youuu. You who try… Tooo defy faaaate.” Their voice is shrill, and sounds as if it’s in constant pain.

  “You play… With tooooools beyond your undersssstanding.”

  The thing turns back to the royal woman.

  “Cease the Scarlet Prophecy at once. You will shatter fate should you continue.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?! Who, or… What are you?!” Welnar yells, a shiver running down his spine. In response, the being’s body squelches and morphs, showing both halves to Welnar at once. They speak in unison.

  “We are the god of Order and Chaos. We see your fate. You cannot defy it!”

  A god? This thing is… A god? And it’s telling Welnar to stop collecting the hearts. Well who is he to defy a god? Who is he… He remembers Kali’s words. Even if he’s scared, even if this thing is a god… Why should he just lie down and take it?

  “If I do that… Then I can’t make a change in this world.” Welnar believes he’s a hero. He wants to save people, to help people, change this world for the better! He wants Normals to be able to live free of oppression, and if he abandoned his quest for the Zero Blade… Then he won’t be able to do any of that.

  “You are not meant for change! You are a mere weak mortal! Your fate does not include change.” The god says.

  “I don’t give a fuck what fate says! I decide my fate damn it! I won’t just stand by and let this world continue as it is. It’s not what a hero would do.” Welnar responds, his will solid as steel.

  “You are a fool! YOU WILL REGRET THIS!” The god shrieks.

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  And Welnar wakes up. He bolts up, sweating and panting. He looks at his shaky hands, processing that… Dream? Was it a dream? Or was it something more…

  Welnar takes a deep breath, sighing. {“You okay? Had a nightmare?”} Monarch says.

  {“No, something weirder. You may not believe me but… A god contacted me, I’m pretty sure.”} Welnar says.

  {“What did they look like?”} Monarch quickly responds. Welnar tells Monarch about his encounter, explaining their unsettling look as well as the exchange he had. Monarch goes silent for a few moments.

  {“Aceus, God of Order and Chaos. Their aspect of Order also notably, allows them to see and control fate.”} She says. {“It’s not too surprising that a god confronted you though, I expected it eventually.”}

  {“What?! You should’ve said something sooner!”} Welnar says, annoyed.

  {“Hey, come on! You should’ve expected it too, considering the Zero Blade is claimed to be able to slay gods! And on top of that, you’re breaking fate. It’s only natural they’d feel threatened… But they also can’t touch you.”}

  {“And how can you be so sure?”} Welnar questions, a bit worried.

  {“A god descending to the mortal plane always messes with the fate of the masses, while you are just one mortal. It’s just not worth it, but they also probably don’t expect you to survive and complete the prophecy.”} Monarch says.

  {“Then I guess I’ll have to prove them wrong… Arrogant assholes.”}

  {“It’s a god, what did you expect?”}

  Welnar, now feeling reassured by Monarch’s words, finally exits his tent. Kali is already waiting outside, turning to him as he exits. “Sheesh, about time. You always sleep in?” She says.

  “No no, just uh… One off thing.” Welnar says, scratching the back of his head as he chuckles. He doesn’t really want to tell her about his dream, mostly because it’d definitely seem ridiculous and might just freak her out. Kali shrugs.

  “Well, let’s pack up and get moving then. Wasting precious daylight!” The packing would go by swiftly with two people working together, and they would be back on the road in no time. The hours would pass, houses slowly coming into view at the horizon…

  “I guess that’s the place?” Welnar asks.

  “Sure is…” Kali clenches her fists.

  “So, what’s the plan on actually… Killing the Phoenix?”

  “He’s full of himself, and always wants to prove his superiority. We’ll take advantage of that, by coercing him into fighting us.”

  “But what are his capabilities? His magic, what’s it like?” Welnar presses.

  “Take a wild fucking guess based on his name.” Kali says with a deadpan tone. Welnar thinks back to all his time spent reading. Phoenix… That’s the name of a mythical, long extinct bird wreathed in flame. One of the Primordials, a beast capable of magic in the realm of the Archons. Said to be able to rebirth from ash as long as they have feathers, losing one permanently each time…

  “Well, fire I guess. Maybe some sort of healing too?” Welnar shrugs.

  “The healing we’ll have to find out. But yeah, he wields fire.” Kali confirms. Welnar still wants more though… If he’s just a basic Elementalist, there’s no way he’d have gotten away with this. He has to be a strong one, with probably a unique method of wielding. He’ll have to ask around once they’re there…

  It wouldn’t take much longer for them to arrive, a crude sign seeming to have only recently been built. “Phoenix Town…” Welnar reads. How imaginative. Kali scoffs in annoyance as the two enter the village. It looks painfully similar to the one Welnar lived in, but that’s no surprise… All villages of Normals end up neglected. It’s common for populations to swiftly dwindle as times grow tough… And some people resort to drastic measures to survive. Some villages are abandoned entirely, all the people dead or gone…

  Welnar closes his eyes, focusing. The heartbeat fills his ears, telling him that he’s close. Chances are this Phoenix is the Burning Heart. Perfect, he’ll be hitting two birds with one stone!

  He opens his eyes once more, to find Kali looking at him confused. “Dude, were you day dreaming or something?”

  “Uh… Well…” Welnar fumbles for an answer… {“Monarch can I just tell her?”}

  {“Do you trust her? If so, go for it. I won’t stop you.”} Monarch answers. Welnar sighs…

  “It’d probably be easier if I just told you about my artifact Kali.” Then Welnar would explain to Kali the Scarlet Hearts he needs to collect, for the Zero Blade. It would take a bit, but eventually she manages to wrap her head around it.

  “Huh… And you think this Phoenix is one of the hearts?” She says. Welnar nods.

  “Okay, so what I’m hearing is you need to land the final blow?” Welnar nods again. Kali grumbles.

  “Well, I guess it’s the least I could do for you since you’re helping me and all… Wish I could’ve killed him myself though.”

  “Yeah, I don’t blame you.” Welnar says, but midway through he and Kali pause as footsteps approach from an alleyway to the side in front of them. They wait cautiously, until an old man and woman come into view. “I thought I heard your voice…” The woman says.

  “I’m glad you’re alright darling.” The man says… Kali loosens up.

  “It’s good to see you… Mom, dad.” She says.