Zephyr got into the spawning pit just in time to see Rose smash a stone into the tower hart, turning it from a peaceful blue to a dangerous red. Erebus did not like that one bit.
"Foolish girl, you have damaged the tower heart! Hmm, you always were the smart one. If only you joined me. No matter, once I absorb your energy, I will restore it to its full power! Minions!" At that exact moment, strange-looking minions charged forth, attacking Zephyr and the succubi. They did not have armor or weapons, but they did have lines of magical power running all over their bodies. That, however, did not make them ax proof. Zephyr carved his way through the corrupted minions with ease, inraging Erebus.
"You could have been a hero... Just look at you now!"
"Ya, look at everything I have become! You forged the perfect weapon Erebus, not it will destroy you!" The old overlord then blasted the wall behind him open and fleed for his life like the coward he was. Rose emerged from her hiding spot, a confident look in her eyes.
"I think I've managed to weaken the tower heart! You need to go after him now! Get your minions back, that's the only way you'll stan a chance." From behind her, Velvet and Gnarl stepped out of the same hiding place.
"Yuck! That room is full of beetles, they're getting stuck in my boots!"
"Nothing like a little snack with your entertainment!"
"Girls, secure the traitor and the slut while I deal with this." Zephyr started to walk off before a brown minion gate sprouted forth from the ground. A brown hopping out, Zephyr was ready to kill it if he needed to, but it did not seem so steadfast.
"Master?... Master! MASTER!"
"One tribe down, three to go! Come on, little buddy, we have motherfuckers to gut!" Zephyr was about to stomp off, then Gnarl starting mouthing off at him.
"He's been overlord much longer than you. But you're a fast learner. If you come out on top, I will gladly have you back. I MEAN SERVE YOU!" The elderly minion chuckled nervously.
"When I win this, you will be lucky to be alive, now hush up!" Zephyr marched into the hole in the wall Erebus mad, the old fucker speaking to him through the helmet.
"Did you have fun killing off your old friends? Don't you remember... How they left you for dead? The tower remembers. It has absorbed their whinings... Their betrayal of you! Lison to them!" While he carved his way through a horde of corrupted minions, Zephyr heard the ghostly voices of the heroes. Starting with sir William.
"Is he dead? Surely, no one could have survived that fall!"
"We must help him! He fought beside us. There must be a chance." Hearing Oberon stand up for him brought a tear to Zephyr's eye.
"No! We gotta go, take what we can and get outta here!"
"He's right. We've vanquished the evil. He has earned his rest. Leave him!" Kahn and William both said Zephyr always hated how they treated Oberon. Or at least he thought he did, not remembering their exact actions. Even more hate filled his heart when Erebus continued to babble.
"Then my minions found you, healed you; made you ready to become my successor... Temporarily!"
"And I suppose you also had something to do with my convenient memory loss, right!?"
"Maybe, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Zephyr clenched his fist in rage and used that hate to carry him through the fight. He reclaimed hive after hive, each one more well guarded than the last. With the last of the minion hives secured, his horde filled, he was ready. All that was left was goodbyes.
"Welp, I'm off to kill your dad, or what's left of him. Any final words of encouragement before I plunge into the jaws of death?" He asked as he looked into Rose's eyes. He could see that she was worried about him. He would have to do something nice for her later to make up for all this.
"Oh, I can think of something a little better than that, sire~." Rose then grabbed him by the shoulder spikes and pilled him down into a passionate kiss. The minions cheered, Velvet made gagging noises, and Jill inappropriately whistled.
"Do try and come back to me alive, Zephyr~."
"Now, how can I refuse a direct order like that~?"
"YUCK! Get a room, you two!"
"Jill, be a dear and smack Velvet really hard across the face." To the sound of Velvet being smacked like the bitch she was, Zephyr went to meet his destiny. He found a trick wall and willed his minions to push it out of the way. Erebus was waiting for him in the middle of what looked like some sort of ritual chamber.
"The good always want to be heroes, their so... Predictable! And so are you!" Erebus then sealed the room, locking them both in.
"You know what's funny? You thought that was a good idea!" Zephyr then charged forth with his minions, clashing in battle with Erebus's while the crazy fuck prattled on.
"Have another rost pig Melvin... Have two... You're a hero now." Zephyr ignored the old man's babbling, figuring out that the different color his sheld was, that was the minion tribe he needed to use to attack him.
"I think she likes you, sir William, if you slip away with her, I won't tell anyone!"
"Helping your son-in-law cheat on your daughter, classy." Zephyr did his best to ignore everything else the creepy fuck had to say. All it was was self-entitled ramblings about how he corrupted all the heroes anyhow. Only when he started to make some actual headway in the fight did Erebus begin to take him seriously. Summoning a massive horde of corrupted minions, maybe every one he had. Hundreds of them descended upon Zephyr and his minions, and they fought them all with every spell and weapon they had. Zephyr's losses were heavy. Only a third of his horde survived the onslaught, but Erebus was out of reinforcements, that was clear. A few more well-placed blows by his minions and a fireball to the face and Erebus was on his knees glaring up helplessly at Zephyr.
"The good, they don't know how close to evil they really are."
"JUST DIE ALREADY, YOU MISERABLE FUCK!" Zephyr landed his ax deep into the chest of the weak old man, pulling it out and walking away while Erebus exploded with evil energy.
"Minions, get this room unsealed, and let's... L-Let's get the... Wha?" Zephyr started to feel dizzy, but at the same time, a great fog began to lift from his mind. He was starting to remember who he was and then passed out.
...
"And the winner lady's and gentlemen, our raining grand champion, Zephyr the wind of death!" The crowd of the arena cheered as Zephyr stood over the dead minotaur, his bloody ax heald high as the blood dripped onto him. He then returned to the gladiator pit, where his owner waited for him. He was a fat Heartland noble named Maximus, and he was as happy as he usually was after a fight.
"What a show, my boy, what a show! What does the grand champion need most after another day of slaughter? Wine? Women? Men? Tell your master what treats his favorite pet desires."
"My freedom would be nice." There was a long poss between the two before Maximus started laughing hard and slapping his knee.
"Oh, that was hilarious! When you get too old to fight for me, you have a job lined up to be my jester!" Zephyr glared at the man who called himself his master. He had belonged to the fat fuck as long as he could remember and hated him for just as long.
"Now into your pen, I'll have the finest whores and drink brought to you. Only the best for my boy!" Zephyr gave his weapon back to the quartermaster and went to his cell. It was filled with many fine luxuries, but a cage was still a cage.
"I see your suffering, friend. Maybe I can assist?" Zephyr jumped out of his skin and turned to see who else was in his cage. He spotted a little old mand in blue robes with a jeweled staff.
"AW, hell! Did Maximus forget to tell me he was whoring me out again!? Ok, drop your pants and le-"
"No, no, I am not here for that! I'm here to ask you some questions." Zephyr sat down on his bed and looked the older man over. There was something off about him.
"Ok, shoot."
"What do you know about a man named Erebus?"
"Only that he was some third born noble fuck who my master tutored for a while before he was banished south. Why are you asking me?"
"Because I already tried asking your master, and he was tight lipid about it. Some of his other servants said that you and he were close, is that right?" Zephyr's eyes began to glow with hate remembering what he wished to forget.
"As close as any child is to their molester." The old man looked horrified by the very idea. It was refreshing for Zephyr. Most people in the Heartland considered the practice normal.
"I'm so sorry to hear that."
"The past is the past, now. Why are you looking for information on him?" The old man looked around the room like he expected to be spied on.
"Because Erebus has become a powerful evil back where I'm from. Taking the title of the overlord, he and his horrid minions are on the brink of total domination of my homeland." The old man looked Zephyr up and down, making him feel uncomfortable.
"I am also assembling a band of heroes to fight him. We are only seven so far, but maybe with you as number eight-"
"Sorry to burst your bubble, old man. But even if the fate of the world did depend on it, Maximus would sooner castrate himself before selling me." The old man gave a wicked chuckle. There was indeed something wrong with him, Zephyr concluded.
"That will not be a problem, now that I will buy your freedom whether you say yes to helping me or not. If you do feel like taking the life of the man who took your innocence, meet me at the Gilded Grail inn." The old man then teleported out of the room in a flash of blue light. Zephyr concluded that it was all a dream and moved on, that is until Maximus actually freed him an hour later, saying an old man gave him something more voluble than he ever could be. That hurt his feeling a bit, but the old man kept his word, and in the end, that was enough for him to join him in his quest.
...
Zephyr woke up in his private quarters, surrounded by blue minions. Some were looking in books, others were focusing their power on crystals, and one was massaging his feet. But all of them dropped what they were doing when they saw he was awake.
"MASTA!"
"The Masta's ok!"
"We missed Masta!"
"Calme down ya little boogers, I live." Just then, Rose burst into the room, tearing up when she saw Zephyr on the bed.
"Ah, darling... I am so happy your finally awake!" She then ran over and kneeled next to him. She looked like she saw his ghost.
"How long have I been out!?"
"Two days, and might I say, it is a pleasure to see you again, sire." Gnarl said as he walked in. Zephyr stood straight up when he saw the little fuck.
"And why should I not kill you on the spot for what you tried to do to me!?" A fireball formed in Zephyr's hand. Gnarl seemed unfazed by this, only making him angrier.
"Because I am loyal to the overlord, and until now, I was uncertain who that was. So I just stuck to the one who was here the longest. Now that you have proven yourself the one true master of all evil, my loyalties are no longer divided." Zephyr was ready to blow the little bastard to bits, but instead, he lowered his hand and extinguished his fireball.
"The moment I even suspect that you're going to betray me again, your dead. Now everyone except for Rose, piss off!" All the minions scurried off. The moment they were all gone, he pulled Rose into bed next to him. He did not try to make a move. He just held her, much like a child would hold a teddy bear, and she held him back, no questions, just holding one another.