Maxwell was keeping his wits about as he made his way through a forest area in The Constant, a sword in hand. It was pointless to sit and wait for Cato to come out. He wasn't sure where to start with searching for him but he figured walking around would be better than just sitting in a camp, waiting for hours on end.

He has to be somewhere.

Maxwell carried on for a few more hours before deciding to stop for a moment, resting on a tree stump. He wiped at his brow, sighing a bit.

I hope Scarlet will be alright without me for a bit. She can handle herself just fine but… Cato got her before. I don't want that to happen again.

Maxwell shook his head, getting up to continue on with his journey.

"You know, I have to admit, it's fun watching you go in circles like a dog chasing his tail."

He growled, looking behind him, finding no one there.

"Eyes up."

Maxwell folded his ears down as he looked up into a tree, seeing Cato standing on a branch, sneering down at him. Maxwell hissed a bit.

"You know, if you were really a man you wouldn't be afraid to face me on the same level."

"Ah but I'm not the same level as you, Maxy. I'm above you. I'm the man, you're the beast, so it only makes sense, don't you think?" Cato laughed. "Though I wonder if I should even call you a beast since that's an insult to the monsters around here and they're even higher than you!"

Maxwell snarled.

"Spare me the insults." Maxwell lifted his sword at him. "I know what you want, Cato. Let's just get this over with."

Cato jumped down from the branch, keeping his arms folded behind his back.

"Hm… I'm not sure if I feel like fighting you. Feels like such a waste of breath. Least… for the moment. I don't think you've been humiliated enough yet… Magnus Umbra."

Maxwell's eyes went dark.

"How do you know about THAT?"

"Oh, please, all the nightmare monsters talk about it. How much you hate being called that. I must say, it's fun to see get bristled up like a frightened animal. Really says a lot about you, Maxy, or excuse me, Magnus Umbra."

Maxwell bared his teeth.

"Don't call me THAT!"

"Hm… I'll call you whatever I like." Cato moved one of his arms from behind his back, summoning an odd looking sword that had red gems encrusted into the hilt to his hand. "Hm… to fight you now or to wait till you've really lost it. That is the question."

Maxwell growled, swinging his sword at him quickly. Cato moved to the side, dodging the attack with ease.

"Tsk, tsk, let's not be brash."

"FIGHT ME ALREADY!"

"Hm… I will, but not now. Instead… I think I know someone who will gladly give you what you want." Cato stood in a open position, a perfect opportunity for Maxwell to strike him down. Maxwell charged forward, Cato sliced behind him, opening a portal that was red in color, moving to the side as Maxwell fell right in. "I believe you might remember them!" He called into the portal before closing it.

Maxwell fell for a few minutes before landing on hard warm stone ground, his sword clanking at his side.

"Augh…" He groaned. "I swear I'll kill that man if it's the last thing I-"

"Well, well, what have we here?"

Maxwell froze up as he heard a deep voice speak. It was a voice he recognized but it was one he had not heard in over centuries.

He shakily looked up, eyes widening at seeing man who had small antlers growing out of his head and was dark in skin color, red war paint adorning his plump body. He looked at Maxwell with an amused look.

"So, this is the face you currently wear, Magnus Umbra?"

Oh. No.

Maxwell snarled, baring his fangs, giving a hiss.

"That is not my name." He spat. "And I intend to return from whence I came immediately-"

The man laughed a cold cruel laugh that made Maxwell shudder. It reminded him too much of a different time.

"Oh, Magnus Umbra, you surely jest when you say that."

"I… I don't..."

"Heh… It's so strange seeing you like this yet it seems natural for you. To be cowering in fear like the weakling you truly are. Aren't I right, my people?"

Cheers erupted around the two, Maxwell looking around him, seeing pigmen that were different from the ones of his world clad in armor. He then took note where he was laying. It was a flat plateau that had rings on each side… rings that were portals. His eyes shrunk as it sunk in.

I'm in The Forge. The gladiatorial ring of lava.

He looked to the plump man, a pleading look in his eyes.

"Battlemaster Pugna we… we don't need do this. L-Let's be civil now-"

"Civil? HA! Laughable!" Pugna narrowed his eyes. "The king before you abandoned us. No scepter to provide whatsoever for our world that was falling apart. We were left to be eaten by the molten lava but we survived. We became stronger. Why should I be civil with an illegitimate creature he spawned?"

Maxwell snarled.

"His actions are not mine!"

"Ah but you see, Magnus Umbra, the way it works in regards to heirs is that once a king dies, his heir inherits everything, including his problems and well… since Tenebrae created you that makes you his son and by extension, his heir to everything he left behind. I mean, there was another but we all know how THAT ended."

Maxwell fell silent, his eyes wide at what had just been said to him.

He… He surely had not heard that right. Right?

"Excuse me?" He said in such a low tone that a normal person might've missed it. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. You're the son of the king who left us behind. There was another but last I remembered, he was on the brink of dying and leaving poor poor scared Magnus Umbra on his own."

"Brother… It hurts! IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE HELP ME!"

No… No… Don't think about it.. Don't…

"Magnus… Please…"

Maxwell gripped his sword tightly in his hands, his eyes blazing with rage.

"FINE! You want a fight!? You have it! BUT LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!"

Pugna chuckled.

"Very well. I must say, it amuses me to see the will to fight in your eyes." He let out a boisterous laugh. "You shall fight in the ring then, Magnus Umbra, but know this, depending how it goes will determine an outcome. If you win, you may return to your world and we shall not bother you again, but if you lose, you shall be slain here and we will invade your world and conquer it."

Maxwell's eyes went wide.

If I lose that means I won't be the only one paying for it.

Images of Pugna and his troops coming through to The Constant flashed through his mind. No mercy to be found as they would trample through the land, destroying all who stood in their way before finally reaching Wickerbottom, overthrowing her and destroying the throne.

While he wasn't fond of the queen or her court… he wouldn't wish that on anyone and they had no part of this. This was a problem between him and Pugna, not them and Pugna.

… But that's what Cato wants.

Maxwell gripped tighter at his sword.

Cato tricked me into that portal he opened. He may not be able to align himself or gain Pugna's loyalty but he can still make use of him in other ways and this is it. Using me to rekindle a war that died centuries ago.

Maxwell growled.

HE TURNED ME INTO A SCAPEGOAT, THAT SNAKE!

"So, do you accept the terms of the challenge, Prince?"

Maxwell kept silent before looking Pugna right in the eyes, snarling.

"I will not lose."

"That's the spirit. Though, I will be fair in two regards." Pugna gestured to his attire with his club. "You should be properly equipped to battle so we shall take care of that."

"And the second?" Maxwell asked, raising an eyebrow.

Pugna grinned.

"Our gladiatorial battles are more amusing when it's a team of fighters rather than one. Thankfully, someone has kindly delivered five others like you our way that we've been dying to see enter the ring once you were brought to our world." Pugna leaned back in his throne, chortling. "It seemed absurd to wait but as soon as you were mentioned we were more than happy to agree to the deal he offered. He seemed invested in the idea of you being murdered by us before taking over your world. The others that will join you, not as much but he wouldn't mind seeing them go too. Either way, you won't be dying alone, be grateful for that."

Maxwell's eyes narrowed.

"Do you have any idea who you made a deal with?"

"No and I don't particularly care. I want you dead and for your world to pay for what was done to us. Now, enough talking. Troops! Prepare him for battle!"

Maxwell was grabbed on both sides by armored pigs, taking him to the one the rings on the plateau.

"He's using you! This won't end well for either of us whether I win or not!" Maxwell shrieked as he was dragged away. "YOU'VE MADE A DEAL WITH A DEMON!"

Pugna sneered.

"And now I'll extinguish one."