Medio: David won't ever exist, so you'll have to beat Goliath

“I hope you can forgive me for this.” Whispered Halia, mostly for herself more than for Mors.

Receiving a hug from her beloved granddaughter was one of the things she desired the most when returning to the land. A pitiful, impossible dream, she knew, but one she couldn’t shun from her mind nonetheless. Given so, even when the intent was to kill her, she could not find it in herself to break the hug even when her body was bearing the brunt of the Goddess wrath.

All good things have to end after all, and it did, when she struck down on Mors shoulders with both her fists, finally tumbling her down to the ground. The noxious aura disappeared, leaving behind an empty space, akin to an explosion that devastated half of the city.

The body of a telchine has far more longevity than a normal human, but if they were to equal their lifespans, they would show the same signs of old age relatively at the same points. So it was a surprise for her to realize that if she was a human she would have lost 20 odd years of her life with Mors attack. Considering the actual lifespan of a telchine, that meant that she was now several centuries older than she had been a mere few minutes ago.

“You truly held back nothing. I knew you hated me, but for you to do this to me…” Said Halia, resigned in her words. “Although, deep down, I did fear that it all would go like this, what a waste of time.”

Mors was trying to stand back up, her semi immortal body slowly, but surely, trying to adapt to the damage that having two Gods inside it caused. If she hadn’t been the Goddess of Death specifically, she would probably have been dead a long time ago. The view alone broke Halia’s heart.

“I think… I owe you to repair what I have done, at least a little bit.” Said Halia, crouching down, taking Mors by her arms to make sure that she wouldn’t throw herself over her again. “I brought the telchines because that was the only way they would allow me to return, if the priest and his kind didn’t come here, I would have never been able to open a rift. I’m sorry, but it was the only way.”

Mors was only half conscious, hanging on with every little bit of her willpower. Halia’s words were diffuse, but their meaning managed to get through. Halia took her in her arms, holding her tightly so she would not be able to move.

“I don’t think there’s any way to stop it, even if you managed to kill the priest and every telchine in their hideout. As far as I know, the Gods must have reached it at this point, but I can’t see how that could change anything. What I do know is that the priest took Todo down there, and although he is safe, I don’t know what he will do if he doesn’t manage get ahold of your little assistant here.

I’ll do my best to keep him safe, but I don't even think I would be able to get him out of there. Maybe you and your little assistant may have slightly better chances, if you get ahold of an army to help you with it.”

Halia was walking down the path of destruction the enormous telchine had left behind. If Mors preferred to risk death rather than to have any kind of relationship with her, then truly, going on with her work had no meaning. Depending on the state of affairs, she may even…

And in the middle of that thought is when she saw them. An enormous man with a boar mask, carrying someone in his back, being closely followed by an enormous monster. The two figures were running across the outermost layer of the city, towards the enormous view that gave way to the cliff below.

“I can see how this is going. Your little assistant has the right idea, even if I don’t think he has the force to pull through it, especially while carrying that dead weight. But who am I to talk, right?” Halia said, rising Mors a little bit higher. “If you want my help, you’ll have to prove yourself a little more worthy, hero of Death.”

Ases couldn’t say it was a plan, it was a sketch of it, a draft at best. In a way, he consoled himself thinking that it still was not the worst he had been in, the sea of telchines in Perdida would probably never be topped in what was remaining of his life. In his mind, the worst part of the whole situation was the risk he was putting Herm in by carrying him into the battle. It was impossible to beat the beast when he still had his hands free, but without them?

Hell, every passing second he started thinking if it WAS worse than Perdida.

He had no idea why, but through the entire border of the city there were people roaming around, of course, running away from him and the beast as soon as they saw them. At least, most of them did, as some seemed to be in some sort of trance, dancing on the street, all the way out in the view towards the cliff.

Running through the streets, jumping in alleyways, climbing into roofs. Ases tried everything to keep the beast away from the people and far enough from himself, but the telchine never let the chase. It was once again blind with rage, its head bleeding from the hit it received against the wall, its stomach bleeding from Ases' earlier punch.

At the very least, that boded well for the plan.

Ases reached the view and did an enormous jump that landed him just a couple of steps before the ledge. His knees threatened to fall apart by the rough landing, as he allowed himself to fall into a sitting position for a moment.

The beast saw him, out in the open, a silhouette against the landscape, and he felt its rage boiling once again. It felt the impulse of lunging at Ases and crushing him into the ground, of rushing to him and crushing him in its claws. But, even through its rage dazed mind, underperforming due to crashing into the city wall a moment before, the beast had a minuscule moment of clarity. A moment that was enough for it to avoid committing the same mistake twice, and instead of throwing itself with all its strength, it stopped abruptly just some meters before Ases.

The monster was not going to throw itself over the ledge.

“And there goes the plan. It would have been too good to be true.” Thought Ases, seeing the beast regaining its composure, and twisting its flat face into something akin to a gruesome smile.

Ases stood in the ledge with his back towards the cliff, as the beast slowly walked forward, making sure that its prey would not be able to escape again. The few meters was now a couple, and soon enough, the beast was towering over him, ready to pummel him into the ground.