Year 865 – Senbo Capital Church
Gaufroi and Joia stood outside the capital church, gazing up at its illustrious bells as they rang across the city, signaling the time of noon. The weather was just right with a cooling breeze wrapping through the streets. It was a moment they wanted to cherish before the big day.
Joia leaned against Gaufroi's side and chuckled. "I almost nervous. Hard to believe we'll be married by the afternoon tomorrow."
Gaufroi wrapped his arm around her. "I never imagined myself settling down with someone, but having you in my life makes it worthwhile."
"Heh. How sweet." Joia played with her engagement necklace, smiling at the beautiful red jewels decorated across the string. "And once we get back from our trip, I'll be able to start teaching. Young minds to nurture for our wonderful kingdom."
Gaufroi looked away and frowned. "Nurtured minds, but will they be able to sleep soundly through the night?"
Joia frowned at him. "I take it there's been complications outside the kingdom?"
"Border disputes with the Great Gate Empire. They've been encroaching on our territory for some time, though they haven't made any recent advances since the last few times we've decimated their army."
She shrugged. "Well, that's concerning."
"You don't sound concerned."
"Why should I?" She purred against his side. "After all, they have you leading the charge. Didn't your father say you'll be promoted to captain soon?"
Gaufroi shook his head. "It's a heavy burden to carry on one man's shoulders. I try so hard to preserve life, but it…gets harder and harder when your enemy is unwilling to back down from the fight." He groaned. "On top of that, there's been a buzz about some terrorist group popping up in the ruins. It's…just a lot to take in."
The Pyroar sighed. "I'm not going to pretend I understand what you're going through. I don't have your resolve for war." She took his hand in her paw. "But that's precisely why I have faith in you. No matter the burden, you stay strong through it all. Because once you've set your mind to an objective, you'll carry it out to the bitter end."
Gaufroi smiled wistfully. "You understand the risks of my job, right? I may leave one day and…never come back. I wouldn't want to burden you with that, especially if we ever have a child."
Joia smiled sadly. "You act like I haven't considered that possibility, but…you're you. I understand the risks, and I'll be heartbroken, but at least my heart will heal with the knowledge you went down doing what you believe in: protecting our home. After all, that's the man I fell in love with."
Gaufroi smiled warmly. "Joia…" He knelt and took her paws in his hands. "I love you, too."
She smiled back at him. "This kingdom is in good hands thanks to you. Let's cherish all the time we can together, then you work to bring us true peace."
"That, I promise. I'll bring peace to our home."
"I know you will."
They leaned in and shared a kiss as the church bells hummed their last note over the city. Neither of them knew it yet, but today marked the start of their futures.
His promise to never give up the fight for his kingdom.
"RAAAAAH!" Gaufroi soared across the arena, throwing heavy swings in Janus' direction. The Claydol backed out of the axe's range, feeling the wind whip across his face with each close shave. He raised the axe overhead, swinging for the top of Janus' head. Janus flickered to the left and barely avoided the axe as it slammed into the earth.
Before Janus could retaliate, Gaufroi pried the axe loose, carrying a cloud of dirt behind it, and fanned it into the Claydol's eyes. Janus recoiled, trying to rub his eyes clean, before being clotheslined by a heavy Hammer Arm attack. Gaufroi hooked his arm around Janus, swinging him around a couple times and launching him into the arena wall.
Right as Gaufroi lunged at him, Janus caught his second wind and opened a multitude of portals. "Ancient Future!" Whirlwinds of stone ejected from the portals and ceased the bear's advance, forcing him onto the defensive. Janus opened another couple portals behind Gaufroi and blasted him in the back, pushing him onto his knees.
With the bear pinned, Janus hovered into the air and closed his eyes. "Predestined Future." A psychic aura encompassed his body. A portal formed between his hands, drawing in the energy and storing it into the future for later. I used up a lot of energy with that last Collapsing Future. It's my best chance of dealing the finishing blow.
The downside of charging his energy was that his Ancient Future had weakened in power, giving Gaufroi just enough breathing room to pull himself free. Once the technique fizzled, he picked up a few stones and chucked them like cannonballs at Janus.
Janus ceased charging and dodged the flying rocks. "Persistent." He brought his hands together and fired down Ice Beam.
Gaufroi swung his axe and intercepted the icy energy. "Brilliant Splitting Revolt!" The golden edge of the axe absorbed most of the Ice Beam's power, channeling it across the axe head. Once the Ice Beam fizzled, Gaufroi chucked his axe at Janus.
Janus barely avoided it, feeling the icy sting of the wind flowing off the blade, and readied his Collapsing Future. However, with his attention briefly focused on the axe, he failed to notice Gaufroi chucking another stone, hitting him square in the head. Specifically, the stone that was currently sealing his damaged eye socket.
"AGH!" The hit triggered an involuntary teleportation, bringing him closer to the ground.
Now low enough, Gaufroi jumped, grabbed Janus by the chest plate, and chucked him back toward the ground. At the same time, his axe sailed back down and landed in his awaiting hand. He dove out of the air, hurtling himself straight of the downed Claydol.
Janus gasped and teleported to the closed elevator door, barely avoiding Gaufroi's descending strike. However, the Ursaring offered no breathing room as he immediately charged forward after landing. With his axe still charged in icy energy, he went straight for the neck.
Janus fell back into a portal just before the axe made contact. Gaufroi's attack shredded through the gate, ripping his way into the elevator. Janus reappeared from a portal and tried to blast Gaufroi with a close-range Hyper Beam. Gaufroi, realizing where they were standing, grabbed Janus and swung his axe into the ceiling, ripping it open and severing the cables holding them up.
With nothing holding it up, the elevator collapsed and sent the warriors plummeting down the elevator shaft. Sparks could be heard grinding against the walls, and they could hear shouting of sorts coming from below.
Janus growled. "Trying to take us both out?" Seeing as Gaufroi had a death grip on him, and with his teleportation linking them, he had no choice but to punch the bear's axe and trigger another warp through space.
They vanished from the elevator a second before it crashed at the bottom of the shaft. The prisoners of the underground dungeon stared at the wreckage in disbelief.
Among the confused prisoners was a confused Buneary who barely managed to get away from the gate before it came loose.
"Wha…? EEP!" After seeing an Armorouge picking himself off the ground, she hopped into the broken elevator shaft and started hopping up the walls. "Don't question it, just run!"
A burst of teal light ripped through a new part of Virdis, jettisoning the warped warriors from altered space. With their momentum carrying over, Gaufroi slammed into the ground on his back, roaring through clenched teeth as blood sprayed from his mouth. He kept a hold of Janus before throwing him across what appeared to be a deserted temple void of light.
Janus crashed through withered pillars, causing parts of the ceiling to collapse over them. Gaufroi quickly rose to his feet and sliced apart the falling debris before rushing down the Claydol. Janus caught himself on the air and retaliated with a barrage of Collapsing Future.
Gaufroi cleaved through the beams and parted their energy through the rest of the underground temple, shaving away more of the ceiling and floor. The ground gave out under them, sending the bear plummeting deeper through the earth. He dragged his claws through the closest wall in sight and slid down to the bottom.
"Ancient Collapse!" Janus opened a portal above himself, casting down a psionically charged border.
"Brilliant Crescent Order!" With his axe radiating in golden light, he swung and fired an energy slash that cleaved the air above in two and split the boulder in a myriad of slashes.
Janus recoiled as the splash damage struck him, cutting across his body. "Agh!"
Gaufroi reared his axe again, this time casting a dark aura around his axe. "Brilliant Crescent Order: New Moon." He swiped through the air again, casting a dark crescent slash that climbed the floors back to Janus, their shape hewn and warped by the pressure.
Janus tried to teleport, but his body flickered uncontrollably. "Gateway to Distant Lands!" Unable to physically teleport, he created a portal under himself, cutting off most of the slash's energy from reaching him. However, he screamed out in pain as the wind itself carried the energy and shredded across his sides and eyes.
The remaining supports of the old temple were turned to dust, sending more of the temple crumbling down over Janus. The Claydol, who was distracted by his injuries, collapsed under the weight of falling debris. In desperation, he wrapped himself in his psychic energy before firing his fist ahead of himself.
Gaufroi casually lifted his axe, staring at the collapsing debris unfazed, and allowed Janus to strike his axe, triggering another warp through space that pulled them out of the crumbling temple.
Year 868
"FIRE!"
A volley of boulders sailed through the air on New Chariot's side of the battlefield, careening down on the Senbo Knights who attempted to retreat. Many were crushed under the falling rock, their armor flattened and leaking with blood. The lucky survivors screamed out in agony as individual limbs were crushed under the heavy stones.
Gaufroi raced to the frontlines and delivered a heavy swing of his axe, obliterating a boulder that came close to crushing his subordinates. He waved to the medical unit running behind him. "Get them back to camp!" The unit loaded the injured knights into their cart and raced off the battlefield with defensive units covering their escape.
How long have they been on the battlefield? A month? Three months? And yet it felt as if the battle didn't stop. Day or night, New Chariot continued their advance onto Senbo's territory with seemingly no end in their numbers. No time for pause or rest. They kept coming in greater droves, pushing the Senbo Kingdom to their brink.
"Get your head out of the clouds, Sir Gaufroi!" The Ursaring snapped out of his daze as his father, armed with armored bracers and knuckles, charged toward the advancing soldiers. "Not a moment's hesitation!"
The enemy soldiers thrusted their spears at the charging Ursaring, who defended with his bracers and snapped the spears apart. He brought his fist down in front of their feet, causing the earth to split and shake open, sending the soldiers flying back in a terminal landslide.
Gaufroi, momentarily awestruck by his father's ferocity, shook his head clear and continued into the fight. He rushed down enemy soldiers, battering their bodies with one swing of his axe each. Their shields crumbled from a single blow, and their chest plates were caved in crushing their ribcages.
A swarm of aerial soldiers attempted to bombard Gaufroi from behind, but were immediately subdued by the timely intervention of Folquin, who lit the feathered soldiers in a powerful Flamethrower.
"You owe me one, idiot!" the Darmanitan cackled.
Gaufroi smirked irritably. "Keep your eyes ahead, you bastard!" He sent another wave of soldiers flying away with his axe, then ran to join his father in the thick of battle. "Prepare the cannons!"
Folquin landed and yelled, "But you two might get hit—"
"We know! RAAAAAH!" Gaufroi grabbed a soldier by the head and buried his face through the earth with a resounding boom.
Folquin smirked. "Idiot." He raced to the backlines as more knights charged behind their leading captains.
"They're lasting longer than I anticipated, Emperor Martius," Janus said, floating just high enough to get a perfect view of the battlefield. "Not even the Great Gate Empire was able to hold off our assault for this long. It seems the Senbo Kingdom's reputation holds merit."
Emperor Tiberius Martius stood atop the hillside, his decorative cape fluttering against the strong breeze being generated from the battlefield's direction. The young Krookodile clutched his sheathed sword. "Retreat isn't an option for now. We're slowly withering their forces down. Our manpower still greatly excels their own."
Janus floated back down to the emperor's side. "It would be wise for you to retreat while you still can."
"If anything should happen to me, one of my brothers will succeed me as emperor. I do not fear the battlefield's siren call to death."
"…" Janus glared. "It seems their captains are putting in most of the work. Such resounding strength they possess. They're causing so much chaos on the frontlines that it's making it easier for their knights to pick off the wounded. They're in an entirely different class of strength compared to our soldiers."
Tiberius unsheathed his scimitar and pointed toward the battlefield. "Then shall we lend a hand and disrupt their disruption?"
Janus' eyes lit up eagerly. "As you command, my liege."
Another breach in space separated the warriors upon landing, this time finding themselves stranded atop a snowy mountain. The Algus Kingdom, perhaps?
"Frozen Future!" Janus' eyes erupted with light before firing a massive beam of icy energy across the snowy landscape.
The snowy terrain was too uneven for Gaufroi to run through, so he opted to stand his ground and slam his axe through the icy laser. "Brilliant Splitting Revolt!" His axe endured the brunt of the energy while absorbing some of it through the edge. Walls of ice bloomed from under the snow, trapping Gaufroi inside a one-way hallway of glaciers.
Janus panted from the recoil of his own attack before feeling his energy return. "Collapsing…Future!" He stacked portals in front of the narrow pathway and fired straight through.
Gaufroi tossed his axe into the air and slammed his arms into the surrounding ice walls. "Brilliant Blade Hammer!" With his arms aglow in the golden, serrated aura, he delivered thunderous strikes onto the ice that caused them to break apart and topple over him.
Once Janus' Collapsing Future impacted, Gaufroi slammed his hands against the ice and braced himself. He felt the ground shattering under his feet, and the ice split and crack from the pressure they were being forced to endure. The ice wasn't meant to take this much energy at once.
However, that wouldn't matter.
Janus' eyes turned up and spotted Gaufroi's axe careening down on his position. On the one hand, taking hold of the axe will allow him to teleport away and reclaim his eye while leaving Gaufroi on the mountain. On the other hand, the icy energy that was surrounding the axe could mean a fatal blow to his cranium if he didn't get out of the way.
Unable to accept the risk, Janus focused his mind and teleported out of the way before the axe could land its mark. This caused Collapsing Future to fizzle just as Gaufroi's ice barriers crumbled.
Janus reappeared and tried to take hold of the axe, but Gaufroi instantly scooped up some ice and chucked them, nailed the Claydol perfectly in his frontal eyes. "AGH!" He recoiled and rubbed his sore eyes. Just as he turned himself around to use his side eyes, Gaufroi had already charged through the icy corridor, grabbed his axe, and bashed him in the face with his shoulder.
They tumbled through the snow before Janus managed to land a decent punch in Gaufroi's face. Blood shot out from the bear's nose, then his vision blacked out briefly from a second punch.
"Tch. I may be a long-range fighter, but even I know how to throw a punch," Janus mocked.
He went for a third punch, but Gaufroi caught it in his hand. He snapped his left eye open which was red with his blood. "That wasn't a punch." Flipping his axe into a reverse grip, Gaufroi unleashed a booming punch to the side of Janus' head. "THIS IS!"
Cracks sprouted over the left side of Janus' head, his eyes briefly trembling like unfocused dots. With his axe handle acting like a knuckleduster against Janus, it triggered another spontaneous warp through space right as the rest of the ice corridor came crashing down behind them.
Upon being ejected out from warped space, Janus went sailing across the mountainous terrain, bouncing off cliffsides and breaking through rows of spires. He flew off the rocky pathway and landed on a road where a long rope bridge connecting two separate mountain spires stood. As he pulled himself up, he could see the foggy atmosphere under the bridge, giving no sign as to how far down the ground was.
"You were one of the lucky ones, Chief Centurion Janus." The Claydol glared up as Gaufroi slid down onto the path. With his axe resting atop his shoulder, he approached the soldier and said, "You and the previous emperor should've died that day. All the grief you brought to my men. There was no payment I could conceive to justify the pain you've brought us."
Janus picked himself up and scowled. "Really? Yet the Senbo Kingdom has reigned as one of the mightiest military powers for two centuries. You didn't earn your land through negotiation. I wonder why you ceased your own conquest. Your forefathers could've easily conquered the rest of Virdis. Is that not our birthright? To take for the good of our people?"
Gaufroi's glare deepened.
"Those who stand at the top deserve to rule. That is the law of the Martius family. Taking hold of power when it's most convenient, and doing away with the weaknesses that hold us back. You look at us as the enemy, but the truth is that there are no allies in war. It's all a game of resources. As long as someone gets something out of it, they're the winner." Janus glared. "What are we doing that's any worse than the crimes of the other kingdoms? Senbo isn't innocent."
"…" Gaufroi sighed. "I'm not here to play with semantics or ghosts from the past. I know my kingdom's sins. That's why I remain loyal. That's why I took the opportunity to raise the young prince. Because I know he'll be the one to undo our mistakes." He pointed at Janus. "Pointing out the crimes of war as nothing more than basic nature doesn't justify the harm you've brought to the west."
Janus sighed. "Do you think your people will believe that?"
"They can believe whatever. It doesn't matter what it's for. I will not back down from a war that puts the innocent in jeopardy." He glared. "And even you believe this."
"…" Janus shook his head. "I've been alive for a long time, Sir Gaufroi. My species doesn't age the same as your mammalians. I've seen quite a bit, among such travesties being the betrayals and wars over the emperor's throne. The Martius family has been in power for many, many years because they know how to win a war. And now with Emperor Nero taking command, we see ourselves being able to support a future where war never ends, but New Chariot prospers."
"No kingdom or empire can support itself on an endless war."
Janus shrugged. "Why not? Virdis knows nothing but war. After all, that's how the ten kingdoms started: fighting over possession of the elementium mines."
"…" Gaufroi lifted his axe. "Perhaps so. Regardless, that is not the future I envision for the next generation." He sprinted down the road, rearing his axe back. "No child should have to endure the bloodshed of the adult world!"
"Collapsing Future!" Janus opened his portals and rained down lasers, but Gaufroi was quicker than he looked. He barely managed to duck under the lasers before swinging at the Claydol. Janus backed away, floating onto the rope bridge which rattled from the shockwaves of his attack.
Gaufroi raced onto the rope bridge. Janus tried to take to the air, his only advantage, but felt himself unable to rise more than a meter off solid ground. My Levitate is wavering. I sustained too much damage from that last punch.
Gaufroi swung his axe wildly, forcing Janus on the defensive as he backed out of its reach. The blade's edge came dangerously close to severing the rope, but Gaufroi kept a steady aim of his wild swinging.
"Frozen Future!" His eyes went ablaze in cold energy and fired forward.
Gaufroi shielded himself as the laser engulfed him and the entirety of the bridge behind him, freezing it in a solid sheet of ice. More and more ice piled over his body, but Gaufroi pushed on through. His eyes flashed an eerie red as the frost encroached over his body, allowing him to push through the beam effortlessly.
Janus' eyes widened. His Guts ability is activating? I can't freeze him, but he's developing the frostbite status instead.
Gaufroi plunged his hand through the cold energy, grabbing Janus by the head, and slammed him through the wooden planks of the bridge. It shook uncontrollably, nearly causing the whole bridge to flip over.
"Struggling to get into the air?" he growled.
Janus glared through his rear eyes. "You tell me?" He whipped one of his arms around and hammered it across Gaufroi's face.
With the Ursaring briefly knocked off balance, Janus struck into his axe and triggered another jump through space.
The tear in space ejected out into a foggy terrain, only it wasn't fog they were swimming in as a second later, they plummeted straight down. Passing further through the fog, they broke through and saw the landscape of Virdis several thousand meters below them.
The wind rushed through Gaufroi's fur, blowing off ice chips. He kept a tight grip of his axe and glared up as Janus casually surfed along the air with the limited levitation he could muster. "Try and survive this, Sir Gaufroi!" Janus taunted. "I don't even need to attack you! I just need you to hit the ground, and I'll have my eye back! You did say to take it off your corpse, right?!"
The Claydol's words couldn't reach Gaufroi over the rushing air, but their meaning was clear enough. With only about a minute or so before he hit the ground, Gaufroi unleashed his Brilliant Crescent Order, cleaving through the sky above him.
Janus skied around the slash and scoffed. "Try all you want! Even if I can't float properly, I have enough experience working in the air to use the bare minimum!"
Gaufroi narrowed his eyes before rearing his axe all the way back, enduring the rushing wind trying to fling his arm forward. "Brilliant Crescent Order: New Moon!" He cleaved the air once more, delivering a fierce slashing attack that warp the sky above him.
The insane wind pressure through Janus off balance, causing him to briefly lose focus of his Levitate. He sunk just low enough for Gaufroi to reach over and clobber the back of his head with his axe.
Three seconds from hitting the ground, they teleported away.
Since they kept their momentum in-between teleportation, Gaufroi made a gamble on where they ended up next. Just about anywhere would do serious damage to his body if not outright killing him, but his options were limited with what little had he to work with in the moment.
Perhaps his time wasn't up yet.
Contrary to popular belief, unless you were a Water-Type, crashing into the ocean's surface was one of the worst ways to break a fall. The water wouldn't break away fast enough for the body, making it the equivalent of hitting the earth itself.
Thankfully, teleporting inside the water brought about less painful results.
The breach in space ejected them directly inside the ocean, causing a huge pocket of air to rupture around them. Gaufroi still had to brace himself, but the water didn't recoil against him nearly as hard as it would've topside. However, even with the water's resistance slowing him down, he felt the water pressure almost instantly. They teleported far deeper than he realized.
Janus, being a Ground-Type, was struggling in the water as well. With only his eyes providing light, he flailed trying to fly out of the water. Seeing he wasn't making any progress, he turned his sights onto Gaufroi instead and fired off Gateway to Destruction.
Gaufroi tried to swim out of its activation point, but the exploding distortion of space carried through the water. The shockwave passed through Gaufroi, causing him to gasp out his limited air in a burst of blood. He clamped his mouth shut, but a second burst of distorted space made him hiccup blood again.
With the Ursaring struggling, Janus swam down and tried to dislodge his severed eye from the axe. However, in a sudden burst of strength, Gaufroi got his arms around Janus and attempted to drag him further below the water. Even though he won't drown like the bear, the water was eroding his clay body apart the longer he remained under.
Janus growled before striking the axe and teleporting them to safety.
A bubble of water expanded in the middle of a dark forest, spitting both Gaufroi and Janus onto the ground. Gaufroi threw up the water he accidentally swallowed and wiped the blood off his maw. Before he could get up, Janus blasted him with a single portal of Collapsing Future.
Gaufroi collided into a tree, taking it to the ground with him. Though dazed from nearly drowning, he stood up, dug his claws into the downed tree, and wielded it like a battering ram. He rushed down Janus, swallowing him within the tree's leaves, and hammered him into another tree. He reared the tree back, growling from the strain, and swung it like a club, battering the Claydol across the forest.
Janus tumbled and bounced off trees before catching himself in his levitation. "Ancient Future!" He opened several portals and fired a barrage of pebbles at Gaufroi.
He first used the tree as a shield until it was withered down before rushing behind more cover. He picked his axe up and fired off a couple Brilliant Crescent Orders, taking down a cluster of trees around Janus.
Janus dove into a portal below himself, dodging the falling trees, and appeared behind Gaufroi. He socked the bear in the back of the head. Gaufroi retaliated with a heavy swing of his axe, triggering another teleportation.
A few seconds after their disappearance, a Thwackey in a light green cloak jumped down from the leaves. She stared at the destruction in utter bafflement. "What…just happened here?"
Gaufroi and Janus separated from each other after the breach in space, finding themselves once again in the Algus Kingdom, though at the foot of the mountain instead.
Wasting no time, Gaufroi fired off a Brilliant Crescent Order, blasting into the snow-covered mountain and triggering an avalanche that came barreling toward them. Before Janus could respond to the brazen action, Gaufroi already rushed him down and delivered a heavy punch to the head. In that brief moment of disorientation, he grabbed the Claydol and chucked him at the avalanche.
Janus came to his senses and fired a Frozen Future, creating a wall of ice that parted the snow around them. Needing a minute to recharge, he punched the ice wall and shakily flew off before the cracks spread, causing the wall to tear down and bring the rest of the snow down on Gaufroi instead.
"Brilliant Crescent Order: New Moon!" He felt his muscles sting from the overuse of his technique, but he roared through the pain and fired off the dark slash, cleaving the avalanche around himself.
"Ancient Future—" Dozens of portals opened around Gaufroi. "Flash Forward!" Psionically charged rocks came hurtling out of the portals like bullets, sniping into the Ursaring from all sides.
"AGH!" Gaufroi collapsed onto his knees and shielded his head as the rocks bombarded down on his back.
Janus teleported above Gaufroi and conjured three massive portals. "Ancient Collapse: Tri-Meteor Extinction!" Three psionically charged boulders fell from the portals.
As soon as the Ancient Future ended, Gaufroi rolled onto his back and used his hands and feet to catch the first boulder. His muscles strained to keep it upright. The second boulder slammed down on top of it, putting more pressure onto the Ursaring as well as digging him through the crumbling ground. The third boulder made his limbs buckle briefly, but he growled through clenched teeth and pressed on to keep the boulders aloft.
Janus opened another dozen portals around the pinned bear. "You weren't the only one waiting for this moment forty years ago. I've extended the reach of my portals. I've become one of the greatest teleporters through decades of hard work. And I have you to thank for my progress. New Chariot may see itself as above the other kingdoms, but I've come to respect you, Sir Gaufroi. You showed me my weakness, thus I've improved far beyond our last confrontation." He closed his eyes, allowing a surge of energy to flow through him. "Indeed, we learn from the past. The longer our confrontation goes on, the more power I gain. The addition of Ancient Power through my techniques grants me more and more power. I cannot be broken."
Gaufroi's breath expelled through his teeth like hot steam. The combined weight of the boulders continued to press down on him, bending his limbs further and further back.
"You've reached your limit, Sir Gaufroi. Why do you continue to struggle for your kingdom? What purpose does your continuous efforts to oppose us bring you? You're without your allies and your support, yet you continue this game. What is your reason?"
"…" Gaufroi growled. "Youth is wasted on the young."
Janus glared. "Pardon?"
He dug his claws into the bottom boulder, sending cracks spidering across its surface. "A temperamental street thug who thinks she's the best. A cowardly thief who projects his insecurities and fears onto the undeserving. A hopeless romantic with no pride in herself as an individual. And a shrewd prince stuck in a conflict between his ideals and upholding tradition. These damned kids…"
Janus huffed. "Is this some old man rant?"
"No child…deserves to have that taken away from them."
His eyes widened. "What?"
Gaufroi's muscles expanded as he started to gradually lift the rocks off himself. "All this fighting, and these damned kids are forced into adulthood just to survive. No child…should have that freedom of innocence taken from them. Youth is wasted on the young because of wars like this! Forcing them to abandon that period of security and joy! Be it an emotional or complete death, what child deserves to die?!"
With a burst of berserker strength, Gaufroi kicked the boulders off himself, sending them careening through the air. Janus immediately activated Ancient Future, but Gaufroi already rolled to his feet and rushed through the storm of rocks exploding against his body, tearing through the flesh across his torso and shoulders. He roared through the pain, lunging into the air and bringing his axe down on the Claydol's head.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Janus screamed as the axe drove through, spilling out more of his stored psychic energy. He and Gaufroi flickered in teal light before vanishing from the mountains.
Year 868
"Ancient Future!" Janus unleashed a barrage of stones from a couple portals, firing down on the charging Ursaring.
Gaufroi's armor held up against the attack. He lunged into the Claydol, seizing him by the head, and slammed him so hard into the earth that his entire body was instantly buried.
"AAAAGH!" Janus cried. Cracks split over his body, and his eyes flickered wildly until he drifted into unconsciousness.
"Ebony Scales!" Gaufroi saw a myriad of crimson scales coated in a black aura crackling toward him. He battered them with his axe and rushed down the Krookodile emperor that joined on the battlefield. "For New Chariot!" Emperor Tiberius roared.
Both men traded blows, their weapons reverberating an immense pressure that shattered the earth under them. Tiberius, whose stripes crackled with streams of black and red lightning, muscled through the Ursaring's raw strength and repelled him with a twist of his blade.
Gaufroi dragged his claws through the earth to catch himself. More Ebony Scales fired at him while he was unprepared, forcing him to dodge. However, to his horror, the scales curved and instead sniped through a few unaware knights fending against New Chariot's solders.
"NO—" Gaufroi took his eyes off the Krookodile for a second, leading to a brutal slash across his chest. The black spark of energy erupted off the wound like an explosion and nearly knocked him onto his back.
Tiberius leapt into the air, reeling his scimitar back as it surged with black lightning. "Ebony Fangs!" He dove onto the Ursaring, aiming to cut his head off.
"Gaufroi!" His eyes widened as Folquin suddenly tackled him out of the way with a Fire Punch at the ready.
Gaufroi's eyes widened as the blade came down on the Darmanitan right as he threw his punch. The flames extinguished just as his knuckles connected, and an explosion of dark energy mixed with blood erupted across his comrade.
"FOLQUIN!"
Tiberius tore his sword out of the Darmanitan and rushed down the frazzled Ursaring. "Kneel before the emperor of New Chariot!" he roared, thrusting the blade right for Gaufroi's head.
Something snapped inside the bear. He took his scowling eyes away from Folquin's disfigured form and let go of his axe. He thrusted his claws straight forward and stabbed through his right shoulder. Tiberius' swing lost significant power, but managed to stab through the bottom of Gaufroi's jaw. The blade got stuck halfway, and Gaufroi could feel the blade piercing through his tongue. Blood dripped from the wound, but he didn't falter as he dug his claws deeper through the Krookodile's body.
Tiberius' eyes widened. "Wha—"
With the Krookodile momentarily immobilized, Gaufroi reared his other hand back and ignited it in a surge of dark energy. It blazed as if he was holding an entire lightning bolt in his hand, rending the air around it.
"Dark Shine Ursa!"
With a simple upward motion, the entire right side of Tiberius' body became engulfed in a storm of darkness, lacerating the land behind him and any unfortunate soldier rushing to back him up. The emperor screamed out in agony as he felt his flesh being rent apart. His sword was obliterated to pieces, freeing itself from Gaufroi's jaw.
Janus managed to pull himself out of the earth and watched in horror as his emperor was mercilessly subjected to the Ursaring's overwhelming strength. Under the light of the dark glow, the knight resembled a demon cloaked in fur made from shadow. His eyes were red and glowed like two stars overpowering the night sky.
This…was the birth of the legendary knight of Senbo.
The Reaper's Right Hand.
Sir Gaufroi the Ruthless.
The tear through space ejected the two warriors into the middle of a forest. They weren't sure which forest, and neither of them cared. Upon their arrival, Gaufroi ripped his axe out from Janus' head, who screamed out in agony as more of his energy leaked from his body.
"Y-You…!" Janus growled.
Gaufroi panted heavily, his whole body trembling from the pain that was finally catching up with him. Old wounds started to open and sting as they did during his time in service. He could barely keep ahold of his axe, forcing him to properly take hold of it with both hands. His left eye was still red with blood pooling underneath. Every inch of his body was telling him to stop fighting and rest.
But he refused.
"No more games, Janus."
The Claydol got ahold of himself and watched as Gaufroi tossed his axe over his shoulder, letting it impale into the side of a tree. After rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck, he lifted his fists and assumed a fighting stance.
"No more teleporting. It's just you and me."
"…" Janus glared. "One of us…is going to die here."
"I know."
Both men stood their ground and stared each other down. They took the moment of peace to relax their bodies, letting the aches and pains run their course until they returned to a level of composure. For the first time in days, Janus finally stabilized his rampant psychic energy and finely circulated it across his damaged body, sparks of it flickering out from the cracks. Gaufroi tightened his muscles, stopping the bleeding from the major wounds on his body.
The feud of Senbo and New Chariot…ends with them.
Gaufroi made the first move, lunging forward with Hammer Arm active. Janus responded with a wall of portals, raining down Ancient Future upon the bear. Gaufroi charged through with his empowered arms blocking the stones and went for the hit. Janus teleported out of the way and reappeared behind him.
"Collapsing Future!" He opened five portals and blasted Gaufroi into the dirt.
Gaufroi shielded himself with one arm while catching the earth with the rest of the limbs. "Brilliant Dark Justice!" He stretched his claws, igniting them in a lustrous purple, and drove his hand through the lasers. The beams diverted around him, obliterating trees and the earth behind him.
"Collapsing Future!" Janus pointed to the air, opening ten more portals above Gaufroi, and rained them down.
Gaufroi twisted his body and delivered an upward slash, diverting the lasers into the ground around him. The earth ruptured beneath his feet, catapulting him through the air in a psionic explosion. He clasped his hands together and brought them down on top of Janus, hammering his face into the earth.
"Collapsing Future! Frozen Future!" Several portals opened around the airspace before Janus opened his rear eyes and fired a solid beam of cold energy. Gaufroi recoiled away from the blast, the energy flash-freezing his arms up to his shoulders, then started running as the portals fired lasers on his position.
"Brilliant Blade Hammer!" With a burst of his aura, Gaufroi shattered the ice off his arms and rushed down Janus again. With a wide swing, he drove his arm across Janus, shredding into his clay body with the aura's rough edge.
Janus took the hit and flew across the forest, bouncing between trees before slamming into a rooted boulder. Undeterred, he summoned dozens more portals and rained down a storm of rock across the forest, tearing down trees to pieces and kicking up a fierce dust storm as it pushed toward Gaufroi.
Gaufroi tore a chunk out of a tree, causing it to collapse into his hands. Roaring through the strain, he lifted the tree over his shoulder and threw it above the dust storm before shielding himself from the rock shower.
The tree descended upon Janus' position, forcing him to teleport out of the way. Reappearing above the trees, he steadied his hands and concentrated distorted space between them.
"Gateway to Destruction: Rupture!"
Upon clapping his hands together, space ruptured across the surface, blowing apart the dust cloud and blasting Gaufroi away through clusters of trees. He eventually crashed into a sturdier tree, coughing blood upon impact. He didn't have a second to catch his breath as dozens more portals opened up around him, firing down lasers that pushed him deeper through the forest.
"AAAAAAAGH!" he screamed, the earth shaving away his tunic and scraping up his back with stones and twigs.
Janus pressed the tips of his hands together and focused his energy. "Predestined Future." He channeled his energy through a small vortex between his hands, sending it into the future for later use. "Prehistoric Ice Shower!" He fired beams from his eyes and compressed the energy into clusters of icy meteors. With a wave of his hands, he sent the meteors sailing across the smoking trench of his last attack.
Gaufroi lunged out from the smoke and flailed his claws, shooting down meteor after meteor. However, one meteor was hidden in a blind spot. As soon as he struck down the leading meteor, the hidden one sailed across his arm and struck directly into his shoulder.
CRACK!
"AAAAGH!" Gaufroi collapsed onto his knees and clutched his left shoulder. He glared at his arm as it went limp against his side. Shit!
"Prehistoric—" His eyes widened as dozens more meteors spawned over his head. "Ice Shower!"
Gaufroi rushed forward and barely avoided the meteors. More appeared ahead of him and fired down. With only one usable arm, he swung three times as fast and plowed through as many of the meteors as he physically could. His muscles screamed from the exertion as if they were catching fire. He could feel the individual muscle fibers tearing themselves apart from the brutal strain, yet he kept on fighting.
"Collapsing Future!" The meteors stopped, but a wall of portals spawned in Gaufroi's face and blasted him across the forest yet again, pushing his body through solid rock and tearing apart his skin and fur. More portals opened up along the way and combined with the active beam, increasing its size and destructive power.
Janus poured more and more of his stored power through the portals until the entire forest ahead of him became eclipsed in a brilliant blue laser that lit up the night sky in a blinding beacon of light. The cracks present on his body grew from the pressure he was exerting, yet he did not pay them mind.
No matter what, I can't give him even a second to catch his breath! I need to end this with everything I've got!
All seven of his working eyes burst with cold energy as he dialed down on the Collapsing Future. "This is the end, Sir Gaufroi the Ruthless! Collapsing Future: Frozen Apocalypse!" He opened a massive portal in front of himself, dumping all his spare energy through it, and fired a colossal beam across the smoldering forest.
Once burning from the heat of his previous attack, the ruined forest became engulfed in a sea of ice. Trees were blown from their roots and twisted to pieces before freezing into solid blocks of ice. Nothing was spared. The ice ran deep, splitting the earth apart as it froze the moisture below instantly.
In the smoking crater where Gaufroi lay, the beam encompassed his position and showered him in the endless sea of cold that captured the once peaceful forest. As the attack kept up, the accompanying wind chills rapidly cooled the area down, causing all heat to gradually expel itself from everything in Janus' frontal vision.
No creature unaccustomed to these rapidly dropping temperatures would be able to survive.
Janus screamed through the cracks exploding across his body, refusing to let up until every drop of energy was expelled from his own body. He couldn't leave anything up to chance. He didn't care if he survived this ordeal or not. This was no longer about him or Gaufroi. This was about the wills of their homelands.
The kingdom or the empire.
Whose pride will stand above all?
"This…is the END!" Janus shouted.
…And yet, it wasn't.
Despite his injuries…
Despite being one arm down...
Despite being endlessly bombarded by an ocean of cold…
Gaufroi refused to fall.
With his monstrous silhouette visible in the sea of light, Gaufroi rose to his feet with eyes burning bright red. Frost coated his fur and tried to slow him down, but he kept putting one foot before the other. The liquids in his mouth and eyes rapidly froze over, yet he refused to falter. The ground erupted under his feet from the ice forming below, and yet he stomped down twice as hard and forced the earth back down.
Janus could see everything through the light, and he felt the deepest part of his essence tremble from the beast that braved an attack plummeting to subzero temperatures. His concentrated waned, and the pain shooting through his body was starting to take its toll.
No matter…how many times I…
Little by little, Gaufroi closed in on him. As he did, he clenched his fist and ignited his knuckles in golden light.
How can anyone be this strong?
"…B…Brilliant…"
Emperor Nero, the future you envision of an endless war…
"Pier…cing…"
Janus narrowed his eyes. Is that even a future we can truly reach anymore?
"B-Breaker…!"
"…" Janus closed his eyes. Is it possible…we lack something the west holds an abundance of?
Gaufroi stomped his foot forward and reared his fist back as far as he could as a devilish red aura ignited across his body and overpowered the golden glow around his knuckles.
I understand now. Sir Gaufroi. You truly are…the ideal kni—
"BLOOD MOON URSA!"
A violent shockwave obliterated the entirety of Janus' attack as Gaufroi's knuckles hammered across his face. The earth around them ruptured and ripped himself apart like a withered castle. The ice shattered into powder, frozen trees erupted into toothpicks, and the atmosphere itself distorted from the thunderous roar of his strike.
Like thunder, it rumbled across the landscape before settling into a gentle hum. A loud, mighty boom followed by eerie silence. A massive wall of dust surrounded the two fighters as they stood their ground from where the collision occurred. Nothing but barren earth stood around them, the rest of the forest buried behind the towering dust walls, hiding the devastation wrought by these two warriors.
Gaufroi panted heavily as blood dribbled down his jaw. The ice that covered him had been blown away in the clash. His Guts ability deactivated, cutting off the adrenaline that was keeping his pain suppressed. His entire body quaked from the multitude of untreated injuries wrecking his state of consciousness. He couldn't begin to describe which of his bones weren't broken.
Not much could be said for Janus, who could only stare listlessly at the arm that was impaling him through the torso. The cracks spread, and the entire bottom half of his body fell to pieces to the ground, leaving him perfectly balanced atop Gaufroi's arm. One of his arms had been blown away somewhere while the other barely kept to his side.
"…So, I am the loser of our feud," Janus mumbled. "Just like last time…"
He started to tip over, but Gaufroi quickly adjusted his arm to cradle the ruined Claydol. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"No. No, this…this is fine." Janus closed his eyes for a moment and sighed before pointing toward the dust wall. "Can you…take me over there?"
Gaufroi obeyed and limped his way to where the Claydol requested. They passed through the dust wall, where they waded through the destroyed trees and shattered ice. Among the wreckage, a cluster of trees managed to survive the onslaught. One of those trees happened to be the one Gaufroi stuck his axe on.
"There…is fine," Janus mumbled.
Gaufroi knelt carefully and lay the Claydol against the fallen tree. He dared not to sit with him, fearing he will never get back up if he allowed his body to relax. Instead, both men savored the moment of peace as the dust started to settle around them.
"…A shame what we did to this forest," Janus muttered.
"…Yeah."
"But what a fight it was…" He chuckled wearily. "It's an honor…to die in battle against such a worthy opponent."
"…" Gaufroi nodded. "You were magnificent as well."
"…" Janus closed his eyes and sighed. "You intend to go back to them. Even in your current condition?"
"…" Gaufroi nodded. "That is a knight's duty."
"Hmm." The cracks continued to spread along his body, pieces of himself chipping away. "What you said earlier, about how youth was wasted on the young? I've known war since I was a child. It is written in our culture to conquer. It is our blood. I wonder…if there is a place for the east and west to coexist in their ideals."
"…" Gaufroi bowed his head. "Perhaps not in our lifetimes."
"Heh. That's your answer, huh?" Janus sighed. "I remain loyal to Emperor Nero's vision. War is inevitable, so we control the flow of war to our favor. However, if you wish to pioneer a world that frees the young from the shackles forged by their elders…" He raised his hand. "Your axe. Show it to me."
Gaufroi lifted his axe by the neck and hovered it over the Claydol. With his strength withering, he pressed the tip of his hand against the eye wrapped against the blade. He closed his eyes and concentrated, channeling the remainder of his energy into the lone eye. The cloth that kept it secured came loose, yet the eye remained fixed in place. The rock grew and fused into the side of the axe, giving the blade a partial decoration of red crystal across its backside.
"This will be…my final Predestined Future," he mumbled. "All the power I accumulated, and all that remains in this hollow husk. I want to see the future you wish to carve…through my own eyes…" His hand crumbled to pieces as the last of his energy flowed into the axe. "You need only call my name, and I shall lend you what remains. Use every drop of it wisely…"
Gaufroi stood up and supported the axe over his shoulder. "I shall." He turned his back to the Claydol and, with barely functional legs and only one usable arm, he trudged through the barren remains of the luscious forest.
Janus narrowed his eyes as cracks started to form over his face. "You…never stop moving forward, do you?" He chuckled weakly. "What bargain…did you make with your gods to still be standing?"
The Ursaring made no reply and kept moving forward. Blood dripping down his body. Bones cracking from the strain. Wounds aching and flaring. And yet, he kept moving forward.
"Heh." Janus let his eyes close for the last time as the cracks completely encompassed his body. "When will I…see you again, Sir Gaufroi?" He rested his head against the fallen tree. The instant he allowed himself to relax…
His body collapsed to dust.
Gaufroi, hearing the crumbling of the Claydol's body, breathed a sigh of relief. "Only I…will decide." He weakly raised the axe off his shoulder. "Will you grant me passage back to them?"
The psychic energy laying within the infused eye shined to life, reacting to Gaufori's will. He steadied the shaking in his muscles and raised the axe to the space before him.
"Gateway…of Janus."