In a world divided into three races since ancient times, there have been three kingdoms. The first kingdom is the kingdom of the gods and sits in the heavens ruling above the other two. The second is called Amaryllis and filled with the prosperous...
The man clicked his tongue, as if disappointed. He rose his sword up. Would Dai be able to stop it in time? Honey wasn't good at fighting, but she knew that she needed to buy time. For Lukas to finally wake up, for Dai to brace himself.
She could... she could do that.
"Who-" Honey squeaked, but found her voice too high. "Who are you?" she tried again.
"Me?" the man looked at Honey in simple curiosity. His face wasn't cut in any cruel manner. In fact it looked rather delicate and soft. Like Dai's features. Not that it mattered, of course. The question had served its purpose. He was distracted. "It's been such a long time since any creature has asked who I was." He turned thoughtfully to Dai. Not good. "What do you make of that, little brother? Have the mortals truly forgotten my face after a thousand years?"
"A... thousand years?" Honey squeaked.
The movement was a quick one. A ferocious one. Dai was so quick and so agile that if this man was anything close to normal, he would have been decapitated with the swing. Instead, he just faded into shadow, which caused Dai to stumble and fall directly onto the sleeping Lukas.
The man reappeared in an instant, swinging for Lukas. It was clear that Dai wasn't his real adversary here and Honey was just a distraction... for both sides. Once again, if Dai was anything close to mortal, Lukas would have been dead. Instead those two ice blades countered the blow for a fraction of a second - giving Lukas time to jump back.
Of course, the ice blades then shattered. Just like they did when they were put against Lukas's sword.
"That was impressive," the man said, his hand resting on his hip. "I didn't think you had that in you, little brother."
Dai hissed.
Lukas, on the other hand, still seemed to be reeling. Honey didn't blame him. She was reeling too, because unless she was mistaken this man... Dai's elder brother and the one he seemed to equal parts admire and fear... he was-
"The Dark Master," Lukas breathed.
"Sword of Moon!" Dai snapped, dropping what remained of his ice blades so that the sword disappeared from the Dark Master's hands and into his own.
His slashed the air, missing the Dark Master by a hair.
The Dark Master, unlike with the first blow, didn't just disappear. That trick had to have been reserved for when he was scared. This... this however, was just a game to him. He dodged each of Dai's slashes like it was nothing. In fact, he was grinning. The skill between them was so vast that he was playing with Dai like he was swinging a wooden sword instead of one of the most powerful weapons in history.
And just then, when Dai wore himself out, the Dark Master extended his hand and the sword vanished from Dai's grip. Dai was bent over, gasping for breath. "You're luck you're cute, Dai," the Dark Master said, resting his hand on Dai's head. "See, that's not something my other little brother possesses."
"Dai! Honey!" Lukas snapped. He was wielding the Sword of Sun now. "Go get the Rose Book!"
"But-"
"Hurry!" Lukas said. "The blast will-"
The Dark Master lunged forwards in a burst of divine speed. Lukas barely managed to get out of the way. When those two blades collided... well Honey could still remember the last blast they created, the searing heat of pure magic. Neither she nor Dai could take that kind of strain.
So she gritted her teeth and turned to run. Dai didn't, though. "Come on, Dai!" Honey shouted, struggling to be heard. "Lukas says-"
"No!" Dai snarled. "I can't-"
"Dai!" Lukas said. "Go!"
"I-"
"Now!"
The word was said with more force than any of the others. A collar of flames - just like the one that Dai had worn when Lukas had first bound him as a familiar - appeared around Dai's neck as his body followed his god's command, even though it was clear that his mind didn't want to. He was... he was being forced to do this. Like that woman god's familiar.
Honey clenched her jaw. To take another person's free will was awful, even under these circumstances but... there was no time to protest. Even when the collar of flames vanished and Dai grew able to control his own limbs once more, the pair of them kept running. Through the village, to the mountain, to the cave, to the Rose Book.
They had to get it.
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