Journey of the Soul Finale: The Truth of Dawn

6:05 am: 55 minutes until Dawn

The creature was purple in color with red hair lining the base of the back of its neck. It's claws and toenails were bright red and seemed to be dripping with blood. Its jaws were a similar color and red mist seeped through the gaps in the teeth. It's natural armor was constructed of bone. The massive arms that protruded from the exoskeleton were practically the length of its body. Its eyes glowed a burning blue color with soulflame energy. This was Zongazonga, a self proclaimed god.

Standing against him were two vivosaurs, Spinax and Teffla. Behind them, Hunter, Todd, and Lila stared down their enemy. While Lila's Hypsi healed the unconscious Duna, Hunter and Todd were ready to fight.

"Y'know. I don't think we've ever teamed up for a fight before." Todd smiled

"We haven't? Well, we'll have to fix that." He turned to Spinax.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Then let's go! Soulfire!"

"Teffla scale!" Teffla pulsed out electric sparks while Spinax let loose a blast of flames. Zongazonga let out an unearthly roar as its horns glowed red. It rushed forward and slashed at the sparks, tearing a blank streak directly through them. The flames were soon dispersed by a similar attack. Zongazonga shrieked and swung his massive arms around. The resulting wind force blew all the sparks back into teffla, paralyzing it.

Spinax let out a roar as he rushed towards zongazonga. The impact echoed as his claw collided with a skeletal arm. Spinax took another swing, but that one was intercepted as well. Their arms were locked as Zongazonga started pressing down. Spinax's feet sunk into the ground, cracking the stone underneath.

"Falling star!" Spinax engulfed himself in blue flames and let out a roar. Zongazonga's arms stopped pushing him down.

"So where does this part fall into your plan?"

"Somewhere between almost being crushed and another vivosaur intercepting him."

"Okay, Delta! Blitz attack!" Delta appeared cloaked in water. In one moment, zongazonga reared one of its arms back and struck delta, driving it in to the ground. It faded back into a medal instantly.

"Well….that didn't work."

"Teffla soar!" Teffla was able to shake off the paralysis and dived fore zongazonga, striking it off balance. Spinax used the opportunity to finish its rush and collided into its massive frame.

"…Hunter?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"It has occurred to me that my plan has a flaw. So you know how the plan was stall and weaken Zongazonga as much as possible before having to use the guardian?"

"Yeah?"

"It occurred to me that we may die before we get to the point."

"What made that thought pop into your head?"

"This." The flames dispersed from spinax's body and Hunter could see the patch of hide where he made contact with zongazonga. The crystals on it had shattered.

"…..Spinax?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"Holy shit." Zongazonga's claws glowed red as it swung its claws wildly at teffla, catching one of its wings and tearing through it with a sickening ripping noise.

"Teffla coil quick!" Teffla let out a shout that concussed through the air and stunned the massive creature.

"Barbaros!" Todd returned teffla to a medal and sent in his other super evolver, "rallying cry!" Before another arm could swing around towards Spinax, a green shield appeared in front of him. The shield cracked on impact, but the damage was negated. Spinax roared and grabbed the arm as it recoiled.

"Cyclonic breath!" Spinax bit down and yanked the arm and let the laser loose directly in Zongazonga's face. When the laser cleared, there were no signs of any damage. Zongazonga's jaws curved up into a wicked grin. He pulled his arm and Spinax with it. Spinax's crystals shattered as he bit down on his back. Hunter grabbed his head as he had to hear a roar of pain echo through his mind.

"Yeah, we're a bit out of depth here!" Spinax half talked, half screamed.

"This….this is insane." Hunter said to Todd as Barbaros put up another rallying shield, "he's way stronger than…..pretty much anything I've fought before."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Spinax you were screaming in pain a minute ago."

"So whats our next move?" Todd's voice cracked as he spoke.

"Balisco Sour!" Lila and Salada were the ones answer that question. Before Zongazonga could break through Barbaros' shield, Salada's tail whipped up a hurricane that sent it skidding backwards. It didn't matter how strong he was. If he was light enough, he would get pushed back. Zongazonga let out a shriek as he thrust his arms forward towards salada.

"Thousand islands!" Salada leapt up before it could get grabbed and used its spring-like legs to rush at zongazonga. Sparks flew from wherever a kick made contact. Zongazonga swung one massive arm across. It caught salada's leg and slammed it down to the ground. One stab with a massive horn later, and Salada faded back into a medal.

"Sorry." Lila scratched the back of her neck and laughed nervously, "I guess I'm not really cut out for fighting."

"Eh, it's the thought that counts." Hunter shrugged.

"So, what's our next move other than hit him really hard?"

"We stall. Harden!" As zongazonga finally crushed through the shield and came after Spinax, his scales shone with a brilliance that boosted defense. As Spinax took another stab from a horn, he retaliated with a cyclone that pushed zongazonga back. Barbaros curled into a ball and spun rapidly, shooting forward like a bullet. Zongazonga reached out with its skeletal arms and attempted to grab the massive spinning ball. A shrill shredding noise filled the air as Barbaros skidded against the bone. The smaller vivosaur was sent hurtling backwards by the impact and had to be caught by Spinax to prevent it from flying off the castle entirely.

"Barbaros blast!" Spinax launched Barbaros back towards zongazonga as it fired energy waves from its tail. The skeletal arms formed an x shape and blocked the oncoming attack. That was what they were hoping for.

"Spinax Mega!" Spinax arched his back and launched himself under the blockade, knocking the arms further up with his crystals. Spinax struck just below the chin with an uppercut. Zongazonga let out a shriek and it's eye began to glow.

"That's some dark magic shit." Spinax commented.

"Isn't the term necromancy?"

"The actual term is 'a big problem for us'"

"Okay then, RAGING SOUL!" Spinax let looses a massive explosion directly in front of zongazonga, who just let loose their own vortex of dark energy. The two forces collided, causing a massive series of flashes as the vortex shot outwards. Spinax was sent skidding backwards and crashed on the ground in front of Hunter, about to crush them all.

"Rallying cry!" Barbaros' shield cracked from contact with Spinax, but didn't shatter. Slowly, Spinax pushed himself on both his arms and legs. His breathing ragged and there were multiple slash marks all over his body.

"Th-that all y-you got?" Spinax said as he hacked and coughed. Zongazonga laughed as Hunter felt the pain spike through his head.

"Did you really think that would be enough?!" The vortex pulsed outward and dispersed as Zongazonga lift its arms and let out an unearthly roar. Hunter looked to Todd, who nodded and retrieved Barbaros back to a medal.

"I Am the God of this planet, what makes you think you could ever match me?"

"My badass bone dragon."

"…..what?"

6:25 am: 35 minutes until Dawn.

"XERXES! NOW'S THE TIME!" In a single motion, Hunter retrieved Spinax and threw the soul disc directly up. The disc swelled in size until it was a blazing purple fireball. From the flames, wings of void spread out from the blaze and wrapped around it. A spiked rib cage shot out as well and encapsulated the flame. Slowly the, the flame shrunk as the guardian enveloped it. Zongazonga laughed, but not before Hunter noticed the flash of fear in his eyes.

"Well well well, He returns with a vengeance. Tell me, boy, what is more upsetting? Failing to kill me? Or was it dying here and knowing you sold your soul for nothing?"

"It was not killing you sooner." Guardian let out a shrieking roar as it shot at zongazonga with his claws outstretched. The sound of bones crunching filled the air as Guardian's claws collided with the skeletal arms. Unlike with Spinax, the two seemed to be on equal footing as zongazonga was pushed backwards. Rubble flew in all directions as the two titans dug their feet into the ground. Hunter jumped in front of Lila and The unconscious Duna, taking a stone to the face.

"Whew! close one. You alright?"

"Don't worry about it." Hunter said as his nose began bleeding.

"Here bro," Lila put a bandage over his nose

"…..bro?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Well, I've been thinking. We probably aren't brother and sister. Probably….adoptive cousins?"

"Oh…can I still call you bro?"

"I'm not gonna stop you."

"Awwwwwww."

"Shut up Spinax."

"Uh, GUYS?!" Todd called Hunter back to reality just as the guardian had shot bright white fire at Zongazonga.

"Hey, HEY! Xerxes!" Hunter reached out towards the guardian's soul with his mind, "that can't be good for your soul, right?" There was no answer. Instead, guardian let loose another cascade of flames at Zongazonga. Black whips shot through the flames and grabbed onto guardian, slamming him to the ground. The two collided yet again as guardian slashed through the whips and charged. The ground shook with every impact. As Zongazonga crushed part of the guardian's skeleton, the void would sorrows the part that made contact. It looked painful considering it would shriek every time it happened. Xerxes bit down on Zongazonga's shoulder blade and pulled back with a yank, tearing out a section. Claws dug into the purple orb within the guardian. The orb flashed brilliantly and Zongazonga was sent skidding backwards. There was no roaring, no grunts of battle as they fought. It was unsettling in a way, but also personal. The was nothing Hunter could do to help even he if he stepped in. This was between Zongazonga and Xerxes.

As Xerxes fired another blast of white hot fire, Hunter felt a hand grab his shoulder. It was Duna, awake and looking incredibly tired. Hunter immediately hugged her.

"I…I couldn't catch him." She said in a horse voice. Her body was shaking.

"It's alright. I couldn't either." The two of them looked up at the ensuing fight. Zongazonga was now charging up that same black vortex from before. His eyes glowed with soulflame energy.

"Guys, we can't stay here." Todd had a point, this was way beyond the natural safety limits.

"Right, let us retreat for now. It's in the hands….claws of the guardian." Duna led Lila back down the stairs with Todd following. Lila took a look back and then broke away from Duna to run back up the stairs

"Hunter!" Hunter was still staring at the fight. Rubble flew in all directions around him, "what are you doing?!"

"I'm waiting."

"For what?"

"To show a friend of mine why revenge is wrong." At that, he heard a scoff from within his mind.

"One of your little pep talks isn't going to get rid of resentment that easily."

"You might be right, but that won't stop me from trying." Zongazonga shrieked as the vortex took shape. The guardian spread its wings and spiraled into the air. This was it.

"XERXES! ANCIENT FLAMES!" The sky lit up as Guardian shot white hot fire at zongazonga. The vortex erupted from around the sorcerer and collided with the beam of flame. A blinding light filled the sky as the cortex absorbed the light of the fire. The two vivosaurs where enveloped within the vortex. Zongazonga's arms swung wildly, throwing orbs of dark energy in all directions. There was a cracking noise as one of the arms collided with the guardian's rib cage, snapping two of them. Xerxes let out a roar that clacked all its bones together. Hunter heard laughter spike through his mind.

"I'm afraid the game ends here. Such as shame too, I would've liked to see you struggle more," Zongazonga turned to look directly at Hunter.

"How does it feel to lose to your own power?"

"I dunno. But I've got two questions for you. One, how can you use soulflame? Two, did you know that Guardian can make his ribs flex outward and grab onto things? Because I sure as hell didn't until about five seconds ago." Realization hit Zongazonga's eyes about 10 second too late as Xerxes dug his detached ribs into his sides. Zongazonga shrieked and flailed wildly as he was pulled towards the soul core of the guardian. It was fascinatingly morbid in a way. Hunter covered Lila's eyes, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene. The core began glowing, pulsing with light.

"This is bad." Duna remarked as she leaned on Hunter's shoulder.

"What?"

"If just being within the same body is enough to reduce a person to a crippled mess…such as myself, then what will happen once two souls are forced together?"

"You mean….oh god." Hunter looked up at the guardian's face, "No matter who wins, this is his last stand."

"I believe so, yes."

"Then I guess all we can do is hope."

"Hope. Ironic coming from you, but I believe I can do that." Light began shrouding around the two vivosaurs. The guardian gave a look at Hunter before being covered by purple light.

"This is where we part ways. If I am unable to kill-"

"You will. We're hoping for it."

"Kick his ass." Dino remarked.

"Give em a good bite for me." Spinax chimed in.

"Good luck."

6:40 am: 20 minutes until Dawn.

ZongaZonga looked around. He was no longer in vivosaur form. Instead, he was wearing the royal gown he had worn all those years ago. He was standing on some sort of plateau. It was a faded grey color and the ground had multiple cracks in it. At the other end of the plateau stood another man. Zongazonga recognized him instantly…and laughed.

"This was your plan? Use my own technique against me? Attempt to force your soul into my body?"

"Not quite." Xerxes started walking forwards. The ground began to shake as behind Xerxes, the guardian rose up from the bottom of the plateau. There was no soul core in this guardian, yet it moved all the same. Zongazonga laughed as purple mist began dripping from his hands.

"I pity you. Truly a miserable creature to think you stand a chance."

"I defeated you once."

"You defeated a weak, useless shell that I was forced to inhabit."

"So you admit you were tricked?"

"I will admit that your stunt cost me much more effort to return to my rightful place than I anticipated, but I do wonder how you must feel about the ordeal."

"….."

"After all." Zongazonga raised his hand. The stars in the sky gathered slowly around his wrist before forming a shape in front of the two men. It took the shape of a young girl, who smiled at Xerxes before turning black and disappearing in an explosion.

"You sacrificed quite a bit, only to fail."

"…I am going to kill you."

"How original, any-"

"I was not finished. I am going to kill you. I will keep you trapped in my soul until it withers away to nothing. Until that time, I will kill you. I will end your existence once and for all. It will be a painful death. I want to watch you suffer before I take your life. I am not a just soul. I want revenge. I am aware that killing you while inside my own soul will most likely kill me as well. I do not care. I WILL kill you."

"Very well. You will die unfulfilled." Black whips shot out from Zongazonga's fingertips. The guardian let loose white hot fire while Xerxes ran forward with his hand in the air. Stars began clustering around him palm. The fire seared a few of the whips, but the rest stabbed towards Xerxes. One caught him in the shoulder and stabbed through his body. He didn't stop running.

Zongazonga was amused by this. It must have been incredibly painful, especially since he drove it further through himself by running. Another whip spiked towards Xerxes and went through his left thigh. He began to slow down, but didn't lower his hand. The guardian would burn away most of the whips, but occasionally one would break through and stab Xerxes. Another one punctured him in the midsection. Blood spilled out of the wounds. The orb in Xerxes' hand flickered for a bit. He was only about twenty feet away from zongazonga. Another whip stabbed through him, fifteen feet. Another, ten feet. One whip went into the side of his head, five feet.

"I'm afraid this is where it ends for you boy." Zongazonga laughed his shrill laugh, "you'll die in your own soul, I'll take the boy's body, and my reign will be reinstated as the god of your planet."

"You were….never a god."

"…EXCUSE YOU"

"No, you were never a god, you were never a king. You were a shrewd tyrant who refused to accept that fact that eventually, you will die. You were not a ruler, you were a spoiled child trying to avoid the inevitable." Xerxes laughed, "in a way, I would be more a king than you ever would."

"WHAT IS A KING TO A GOD"

"What is a god to a non-believer." It was a quick motion, a simple flick of the wrist. If zongazonga hadn't been so focused on proving Xerxes wrong, he would've noticed the orb in his hand taking shape. Maybe then he would've notice that Xerxes had made a copy of the soulcrusher, which was brought down on his head.

"This is not…what was supposed to happen."

"Goodbye, you horrid bastard. I will see you in hell with the rest of us mortals."

"I suppose….he was right….after all."

6:45 am: 15 minutes until Dawn.

What happens when the soulcrusher hits a soul directly? And not only that, what happens if the soulcrusher hits a soul already inside another soul? The soulcrusher that Xerxes made was exacted from memory, so it had the same affects as the real one. So, what happened?

Simple: it exploded.

Well, maybe exploded's not the best way to put it. What actually happened was that when the guardian absorbed zongazonga, all of its bones fell to the ground. The massive soul core flashed white, then dark purple, then the lighter purple it usually was before exploding outwards in all directions. Hunter couldn't tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing until he saw something roll up to his foot.

It was an empty skull. No soul, no nothing, just an empty skull.

"Guys, I think we-" before Hunter could say anything else, Todd brought the soulcrusher down on the skull with a shout and shattered it into several pieces.

"TAKE THAT YOU ASSHOLE!"

"Woah! Todd, language!"

"Huh? You say stuff like that all the time."

"Well yeah, but I'm impure and stuff."

"Hunter, I've had my body stolen and almost killed you. I think I'm allowed to swear."

"Are you though?"

"….YES!"

"Guys!" Lila got between the two of them, "Zongazonga's dead."

"He is?...HE IS!"

"WE WON!"

"VICTORY!" Spinax roared. The entire group, except Duna, shouted and cheered. Of course, they managed to get a reaction out of Duna when Hunter leaned over and kissed her.

"Oh!" Was all she said.

"DOUBLE VICTORY!" Spinax roared again.

"Uh…sorry. I….I should've asked first."

"You guys are gross." Lila made a face. Hunter laughed nervously.

"Guess I got a bit carried away."

"Dumbass."

"Shut up Dino."

"No no, the man has a point."

"Shut up Spinax."

"Would you like to try again?" Duna spoke up.

"Shu-…wait, what?"

"You said you should have asked. Are you going to ask now?"

"…can I-"

"Yes." Todd covered Lila's eyes just as Duna leaned towards Hunter. Spinax let out a girlish squeal while Dino sighed. They pulled away from each other slowly.

"I love you Duna." He rested his head on her shoulder, "and I'm really glad I'm still around to say that."

"I love you too Hunter. Now, let's go home."

"Home….oh right!"

"Oh yeah, we got adopted." Spinax chimed in.

"Don't say it like that. That makes it sound weird."

"It is weird, you're 15 and moving in with your girlfriend."

"…can't argue with that." Hunter turned to look up at the sky. He could see light filtering In from the distance. Just like his dream. The defeat of zongazonga meant that light would filter through. Hunter picked up one of The guardian's bones, he was pretty sure it was toe or something.

"My toe. We're putting that back on me later." Hunter laughed. This was it. This was the happy ending …so why did he feel so uneasy?

"Because we aren't done yet." Spinax answered for him.

"…you're right." Hunter turned to everyone.

"I have a theory."

"Is it that we probably should've let The guardian handle it from the start?" Lila asked.

"No, although yes. I think that….I think that Zongazonga might not have been human."

"…WHAT!?" Lila shouted. Todd looked concerned as particles from both Xerxes' and Zongazonga's soul drifted outwards. Duna had a surprisingly calm expression, as if she suspected this.

"It's not much, bet there are a few things I noticed. For one, Dark magic isn't exactly something humans get. He manipulated Todd and made him believe things that weren't true. Even the shamans back in his time were given magic by him. Also, he would say 'your' planet instead of 'our' planet when he talked about earth. He also transformed into a vivosaur-like creature and communicate telepathically with me, just like dinaurians. Not to mention he used freaking SOULFLAME."

"So…Is zongazonga a dinaurian?"

"Unlikely." Duna chimed in, "Dinaurians cannot force their souls into other beings."

"I don't doubt that there are other species than just Humans and Dinaurians, but why bring this up now? He's dead."

"I believe Hunter is trying to imply that there might be more of Zongazonga's species out there. Which is where I believe I should share my information." Hunter's head perked at this.

"What do you all know about Alvis?" Duna asked, "what do you truly know?"

"He's looking after my Grandma!" Lila said.

"He's a hybrid like Hunter and Lila." Todd added.

"He's a bitch." Dino said.

"What was that?"

"He created Dino by splitting my soul. He's got a clairvoyance ability that lets him…..read minds….and he can use…Soulflame oh my god."

"It is a rather interesting coincidence, isn't it?" A voice spoke in Hunter's head.

"GET OUT" Spinax roared, "NOW." Dino was ominously silent, but the pain crackling across Hunter's skull said more than he ever could.

"As you wish." Light began gathering at the peak of the platform. It was the same light as teleportation. In a flash, Alvis appeared. He immediately threw the small teleporter off the side and watched it fall for a bit.

"I do hate relying on these human devices. Even these are infuriating." Alvis took off the pair of sunglasses he always wore. There was an audible gasp from Lila as the all saw his eyes for the first time.

There were pure white.

All the particles still around the castle began slowly gathering themselves back towards Alvis. When they reached him, it looked as if they assimilated into his body.

"Hello Everyone," Alvis, or rather, the thing that looked like Alvis, bowed. "I believe I have never formally introduced my self."

"…what?"

"My name is…well, my name is something you wouldn't be able to understand. However, you humans like to refer to me as Arawn."

6:50 am: Ten minutes until Dawn.

"….goddamnit." Hunter glared up at Alvis.

"You seem less surprised that I thought you'd be."

"Alvis, you aren't human." Duna said plainly, "you are no specimen either."

"And whatever you are, I'm pretty sure Zongazonga was the same thing."

"How insightful of you two."

"So we were right, he's-" Todd started, but he felt the words stop in his throat.

"An alien? I suppose I am."

"Aliens, it's always frickin' aliens." Spinax growled, "for once I was excited we saved the world from a human." Hunter felt something push at the walls of his mind from the inside. It was Dino, he was ready to fight. Honestly, Hunter wanted to as well. Alvis had been lying to them from the very beginning. But they couldn't fight, not yet anyway, they needed some answers first.

"I suppose answers would be appreciated, wouldn't they?" "Alvis'" silvery eyes sparkled i the partial moonlight, "very well, I suppose there's no harm considering what will happen." He then turned his head to look at Lila, who's eyes had gone blank and wide.

"Hey! HEY!" Hunter shook her shoulders, trying to get he to snap out of it. "Alvis continued talking as if nothing was happening.

"I doubt you could comprehend the species name, as it is in my native language, but yes, I am an Alien by your standards."

"Then what planet do you originate from." Duna asked.

"And there lies the issue. I'm afraid I don't remember."

"What?"

"Allow me to explain. This is not my true from. This is." As he spoke, it seemed as if his entire body glowed white. The light then separated from the body entirely, floating in the air. Alvis' body slumped to the ground. The wispy shape that looked vaguely human began to speak.

"For you see, my kind can only exist within the body of another. Much like Zongazonga, I was using a vessel. The man known as Alvis is already dead."

"You were…a walking corpse?"

"I suppose you could say that yes. Ironically enough, Zongazonga was much more keen on taking alive bodies. I suppose it was part of his god complex. At any rate, I suppose you could think of me as a lost soul, drifting from body to body. This one I acquired quite a while ago."

"You…killed him."

"I did."

"He had a family, a father, and you killed him."

"I did." Hunter's head dropped. His hair covered his eyes.

"I suppose I should also explain why I am here on earth. I arrived here with the one you know as Zongazonga approximately 5,000 years ago."

"That's impossible." Duna said, "the dinaurian ship had life scanners. Any non-native species appearing on earth would have-"

"It would not." And that was the end of that.

"As I arrived, I arrived in this form. The humans….they were simple, yet the revered us as gods. For you see, our planet was destroyed by guhnash. We were simply moving among the galaxy, not searching for a home, but simply a place to rest."

"Guhnash…that creature has caused too many problems."

"Oh no, you're mistaken Duna. it was not seen as a problem. We had created Guhnash. It was our responsibility to be prepared to contain it properly."

"…..YOU WHAT" Duna's eyes glowed. Her gaze would bore a hole through any normal person.

"Oh yes, for you see, lost souls such as myself are the balancers of this galaxy. Guhnash was created with a single goal, to remove planets with life. That is the way it has been since the beginning. Unfortunately we had no planet with life to test Guhnash's power on other than our own. It was meaningless sacrifice; my kind can survive in space.

"…that's not okay." Lila sniffed, tears in her eyes, "That's not okay at all! You can't just kill so many people! That's not right!"

"And who are you to decide what is right? It has been the duty of my species to purge life for years. When old life has disappeared, new life can grow. I am the destruction that gives birth to creation. What are you? Another of my creations."

"I'm a…that's doesn't make any sense!" Lila half-shouted, half-cried.

"Where was I…oh yes. I had arrived to this planet after millennia of travels and purging life. Zongazonga and I were quite possibly the last of our kind. Despite our powers, we require a vessel to sustain ourselves in unfamiliar climates for an extended period of time. However, in our time in this form." The creature gestured to himself, "the humans labeled us as their 'gods' He was named Zongazonga, While I was referred to as Arawn. This is when I noticed the ways of the humans. Their wars, corrupt systems, prejudice, gluttony, greed, all of their vile practices. Did you know that the ancient caliostians would sacrifice no less than five children in the span of ten days to us? It is a miracle they did not die off sooner. In fact, Lila is the last living 'human' with caliosteo in her blood."

"I hate you." Lila cried.

"That is understandable. While I was rightfully disturbed by the humans, Zongazonga was flattered by their attention. He was always a bit of a twisted soul, but his obsession for recognition and superiority was driven into a god complex. He became ruler of the caliostians. Of course, I disagreed with this. So of course, he attacked me."

"This doesn't…this can't be true." Todd held his head in his hands, "there just can't be some cosmic group going around deciding who gets to live or die. That's just-"

"Hush Todd, that was already established. You're a bit behind. As I was saying, Zongazonga had invaded my soul and effectively took a part of it. With more strength than I, he was able to do as he pleased with no intervention. It was quite a bit of time before I met people willing to stand up to his tyranny. Most notably of which, I'm sure Hunter knows, would be Xerxes and Lila. In my weakened state, I could not defeat him alone. That is why I created the Guardian and gave the Shaman tribe a bit of my own energy. It was draining, but it was necessary. With Xerxes residing in the guardian, the 'soulcrusher' you all named, and Zariah becoming the next vessel, we defeated zongazonga. That is when I took my energy back from the shaman tribe and learned valuable information: the longer two parts of a soul spend separated, the more energy is created by them bonding together again. That is why I decided Zongazonga and the Guardian should stay sealed away, along with their parts of my soul."

"So you're just like Zongazonga," Todd glared, "you kept your soul separate for power. That's all you wanted."

"And that's where you are wrong. For you see, strength is no object to me. Despite sealing him away, Zongazonga was still more powerful than I. That is why I sealed the Guardian as well.

"No." Hunter finally spoke again, "you sealed Xerxes, not the guardian. You forced an actual living soul into years of confinement."

"I did. As I was saying, I remained largely in active until the Dinaurians re-awoke and began their specimen project. It both intrigued and amused me. Creating life? That is the right of my kind and my kind alone. But what interested me more would would be their idolcomps. They were capable of sending signals out. Of course, this was to fire regression rays, but I found that they could be used for a new purpose.

"You….you called Guhnash here?"

"Essentially yes. Of course, their was a metaphorical thorn in my side that entire time. Arawn slowly lifted an arm and pointed at Hunter.

"And that would be the very same soul that I created."

"Now you're speaking nonsense. The dinaurians created the specimens."

"And yet only two of them succeeded, although you were all influenced to believe that there was a third as well. Truly think about it. Why would not only two creatures suddenly succeed when everything else failed, but also have abilities such as foresight and Soulflame? I'm surprised how easy it was to influence you all to believe that if I'm being honest. The rest, as you say, is history. I met Hunter, realized he would defeat guhnash, and then divided this plan to have you all defeat Zongazonga. Once that was all said and done and my soul was whole again, I will have ample power to destroy this planet and finally move on to the next. It was a little too complicated for my taste, but it seems everything has come full circle. I will now reclaim all that I have lost and given away. Even now, I am reclaiming the parts of my soul from Zongazonga and the Guardian." Arawn gestured to the soul particles assimilating into his body.

"But…but you said you were gonna help us." Lila broke down, "you said you were a good guy!"

"Oh! That reminds me. Lila, you never had a grandmother."

"…..what?"

"I simply needed you to have motivation to enter the cup to come into contact with Hunter and Zongazonga." Lila openly sobbed. Duna put a hand on her head.

"I am sorry. But take solace Lila." She turned back towards Arawn, a ring of energy followed around her, "you will have respite knowing he is dead." Arawn laughed as the last of the particles were absorbed into his body.

"Interesting, that thinking this is the end for me. There's two more soul pieces I need to reclaim." He gestured to Hunter and Lila.

"Once I have my soul and they are dead, then we can have our little fight." There was pure silence for a second. Then, there was a low sound. It was quiet at first, then became the only thing any one could hear.

It was laughter. Hunter was laughing.

"HaHaHaHaHaHA! Man, that's RICH." Hunter's hair still covered his eyes, but they were practically glowing as Duna saw fire dancing in them.

"I'd hardly find that amusing." Arawn commented.

"Oh, but you see, it IS 'amusing'" Hunter mocked, "you're just like every other person I've fought rolled up into one. You hate humans like the Dinaurians, you want to destroy earth like guhnash, and you want to be the strongest like zongazonga. Your one messed up potluck with a little bit of insanity sprinkled in for good measure."

"I suppose I am a bit hypocritical. Yes, I wish for power, but that is so I can carry out my duty."

"And who gave you this duty?"

"My ancestors."

"And who gave them the authority? Was zongazonga supposed to do that as well? I'm so sick of this. You think you're entitled to do whatever you want just because the 'ends justify the means'."

"I'd say the are in fact justifiable. You yourself should no better than anyone the cruelty of humans. But I will confess, this is not personal. It is merely a part of my obligation to destroy this planet, I bear no ill will towards you."

"Is that some kind of twisted joke? You killed people, manipulated my friends and me, created life for the soul purpose of killing it later, are about to kill everyone on earth, and you think it isn't personal?"

"If you'd like, I could make it personal."

"In that case," spinax's medal began glowing as he spoke, "allow me to personally KICK YOUR ASS."

6:55 am: 5 minutes until Dawn

Hunter screamed as Soulflame erupted from his eye. Spinax roared onto the battlefield and immediately charged at Arawn. Duna transformed into her vivosaur form while Todd sent out Barbaros to shield the vulnerable Lila.

"Now now, that's not how this will go."

"SPINAX MEGA!" Spinax reared his fist up and brought it down on Arawn. There was a loud impact sound, but Arawn was not knocked backwards. In fact, he didn't even flinch.

"I wasn't finished talking."

"I was done listening."

"A shame too. For if you had listened you would have known that absorbing energy I've not had for quite some time causes it to fluctuate. After a period of fluctuations, I will be left vulnerable. Vulnerable enough to possibly be defeated."

"And why the hell would you tell me this?"

"Because, I'm going to kill you right here before you get a chance, so there is no risk." There was brief flash of light. It almost looked like nothing happened, but the hole that appeared in Spinax's shoulder said otherwise.

"Damnit!" Spinax roared and swung his tail in retaliation. There was another flash of light. Arawn was firing brief shots of condensed light at Spinax. They look harmless, but whenever one made contact it went straight through him. Spinax screamed with rage and pain as another light beam shot through him. There was no time to react to any of them. Arawn fired another series of beams at Barbaros' shield, shattering it instantly and crippling the tank vivosaur. Duna launched herself directly at Arawn, but in an instant he rotated and she hit the ground. Arawn seemed to flick his finger at Duna. A second later she was sent careening backwards from wind force and slammed into a pillar. Hunter heard a cracking noise, but he was the one who had just snapped.

With an unearthly scream, Hunter jumped Arawn, who made no move to dodge. He kicked him directly in the head and spun on the ground once he landed to kick with the other foot. He felt the kick connect and also fell to the ground when an electric shock coursed through his entire body. Images began assaulting his mind of himself bound up while being shocked repeatedly In the dinaurian ship.

He screamed.

"Ah, so you aren't completely unscathed by what's happened to you. I must say that chaos that is your mind is an intriguing place Hunter."

"Sh-shut the hell up."

"But wouldn't you rather hear my plan for what I will do after I kill you and Lila? Speaking of which." Arawn fired another beam of light directly at Lila.

"SPINAX!"

"RIGHT!" Spinax roared as he flung himself in front of the attack. The beam went through his chest, but couldn't get through to the other side.

"Hmm, I suppose that's what happens with fluctuating power. Sometimes it will kill immediately, and sometimes," Arawn fired a smaller beam into Hunter's hand. He screamed in pain.

"It simply makes them suffer."

Paralyzed by electricity, Hunter desperately tried to struggle against it.

"It's quite frustrating actually." Arawn talked as if he had all the time in the world, which he very well might, "for one, I cannot use foresight just yet. I'd advise myself against using soulflame at the moment as well, as this much energy out out could very well burn my soul from the inside. I'd either die or live with parts of my soul missing, and I would rather not do either, hence why everything is happening right now."

"Y-you talk too much."

"Perhaps I do. At any rate, it may take days before I have enough strength to destroy earth, but in approximately thirty seconds I will have enough to easily kill both you and Lila." Thirty seconds, what could he do in thirty seconds? 30

"DAMNIT!" Dino shouted, "this bastard finally shows his face for me to punch and now he's this god alien that's gonna kill us." 28

"There's gotta be something we can do." Hunter tried to convince himself more than Dino. 25

"Give…give me a minute to catch…catch my breath." Spinax's breathing heaved as blood poured from his wounds, "then I'll…I'll…Jesus Christ." 23 Hunter could see the soulflame color fade from his crystals. Hunter sighed and returned Spinax to a medal. There was one thing they could do. Something that would give everyone the best chance of beating Arawn. He would have to absorb the piece of his soul in Hunter to get stronger. So…..

"Hey! What's….what's the….plan?" 20, "I don't get strength….huh….back faster in here."

"I know." Hunter tried to look at Todd. He was shielding Lila, ready to die if he had to. 19

"Hey Todd?"

"Y-yeah Hunter?"

"You're one of my best friends. Thanks for being there."

"Huh?...well sure, but we kinda need a plan here."

"By all means, plan away," Arawn gestured, "you have 16 seconds."

"Lila?"

"Y-yes?"

"Don't be afraid, I won't let him hurt you."

"Y-you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure…just don't hate me for it please."

"…what?" 14

"Wait…you're not-" Hunter tuned Spinax out.

"Sorry buddy. Dino?"

"…"

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

"I don't care."

"Yes you do." Hunter moved his eyes over to Duna. She was breathing raggedly, curled up a few feet away at the base of the pillar she hit.

"D-don't…don't." Was all she said. Hunter saw tears in her eyes before his own vision went blurry with tears. 11

"Spinax…it's been one hell of a ride hasn't it? We've met so many people and have gone through so much. We've had tough times, but it all works out in the end. And right now, we can fix everything, but I need your help to do it. Because I'm scared…I'm so goddamn scared right now that I won't be able to protect everyone by doing this. So do me a favor…goodbye." Hunter felt immense pain as Spinax tried to force his way back into Hunter's mind. Hunter felt his finger flick the medal towards Duna. He watched as she curled her own fingers around it. 8

"No…please…."

"I'm sorry Duna. I really am, but think of it this way. It's just another way I defy whatever crappy hand fate dealt me." Hunter looked at Arawn.

"Hey Arawn, you said you need my soul piece right?"

"Preferably I would like yours first yet. You are a bigger threat than Lila." 5

"Is that so?" 4

"Yes, you're mastery of your level of soulflame is a force indeed." 3

"My level? Then I guess I'll have to find the next level to beat you." 2

"That will not happen. You will die here Hunter Cloud." 1

"Yes, I will." A burning sensation spreads through Hunter's entire body as he engulfed himself in blue fire. If Spinax could do it, so could he. The flames burned away at his skin and the electricity surrounding him. It was enough to make Arawn adjust himself a bit further away, and that was all he needed.

Hunter shot across the plateau like a shooting star the second he could feel his feet again. He heard screaming as he careened over the edge and spiraled into the desolate city below. He would hit the ground and die. If he died before Alvis could take his piece of his soul, then it would die with him. It was a terrible plan honestly, but it would also work. Hunter watched the world fall in slow motion.

"Dying just to give my friends a better chance is honestly pretty lame. I couldn't even fight back. Dino, you must be pissed at me eh?"

"…..huh, so this is how it ends." It was Spinax's voice that answered.

"Yeah…I'm sorry man. I couldn't think of anything else and even I did I would be dead the second I tried-"

"I wasn't talking about the end for you."

"Huh?"

"Kick his ass for me kid. See you later."

"Wait, what are you-" Hunter was interrupted by the sound of an earth shaking roar. A flaming tornado erupted from the top of the castle. Spinax had slammed himself into the ground and wasn't stopping. Engulfed in blue fire, Spinax drove himself into the ground until it cracked underneath. He still didn't stop. The fissures spread across the ground, buildings shattered, and massive chunks of the island began to break. Hunter saw one last thing, shard of sparkling blue crystals spreading out.

And then the world was set alight.

Massive fiery explosions tore through the island, shattering chunks of it as Spinax shot downwards. Hunter fell straight through the cracks in the ground and saw the entire island rise above him as he fell. That's when he saw Spinax drill through the end of it and break the island into five separate pieces.

"Well whaddya know, turns out I can pull through in a tough spot if you do stupid shit like that. Seriously Coach, this was the worst game plan yet." Spinax was above Hunter as they both fell. He was burning alive and smelled like…like death.

"You…you can't….why?" Was all Hunter could say.

"Because you're my best friend too, and no one's dying on my watch."

"Please don't…please don't leave me again."

"Sorry….I have to." Something clicked in the back of Hunter's mind. Spinax never once sounded the way he did when the mind link was severed the first time. When he had almost killed Dino, Spinax sounded cold and heartless. But now, when he's leaving again of his own volition, he sounded sad and empathetic. There's also the matter of Spinax not being able to see inside Hunter's soul. It all clicked.

"You were right Hunter, it was one crazy ride from start to finish. My only regret is that I won't be around to see it end."

"…I…I can't do this without you."

"Yes you can dumbass, just don't do anything I would do." Hunter watched as his first vivosaur, his first ally, his first friend, burned away in front of him. For a brief moment before plunging into the ocean below, He saw Spinax go back into a medal. The medal glowed blue for a moment before shattering like a delicate crystal.

Arawn stared at the ocean. It wouldn't do him any good, but he wanted to.

"Very well, a new plan then. I will wait until I destroy the earth and then absorb Hunter's soul piece once he dies." He turned to the scene in front of him.

"Now, why are you crying Lila? Your friend is still alive." Lila looked at him like how a dog looks at a cat.

"I want you to die."

"And despite that, I will not kill you yet. I have a new plan in mind." Arawn raised his hands as the sunlight covered his body.

"A plan that will leave everyone happy."

Dawn has risen.