Tuji looked the massive armored man up and down with approval. A good half a head taller than himself and looming like a golem, Hoplite certainly looked the part of a mighty warrior. Tuji was not sure how Hoplite would be able to fight without seeing anything… his helmet was completely smooth with no eye holes whatsoever… Tuji supposed he would just have to find out. He cracked his knuckles as he waited for the massive metal man's reply.

Either Hoplite would accept and they would battle, or… what if Hoplite said no? Tuji couldn’t partake in the fight unless his challenge was accepted or unless Hoplite struck first. Tuji could always dishonor himself and force the fight to happen… it wouldn’t be the first time he had done such. Tuji had been trying to change his ways and honor his third father ever since he discovered the divinity of his blood.

The young armor clad human to Tuji’s right seemed ready and willing to fight at least, aiming that thunderstaff right at his head. Certainly that had to be what it was, the barrel, the scope… his time fighting the dragon-men of the Blastlands had taught him exactly what kind of weapon that was. It wouldn’t be strong enough to punch through his flesh though, for after Tuji left the Blastlands, his skin had hardened to a point where those round little bullets would bounce right off him.

He turned his gaze upon the human and grinned, tilting his chin up in challenge. The boy didn’t move, didn’t blink, simply staring at Tuji through the scope of his long black thunderstaff. Tuji then turned his attention to the faekin woman scrambling away, screaming at Tuji’s proclamation that he was indeed the son of Zodd. That reaction was one he expected from most people… but Hoplite seemed unfazed by Tuji’s true nature as a Pillar-Born, a very good sign. The young human aiming at Tuji seemed to be unfazed as well.

Both of the humans seemed very brave indeed. Perhaps he could fight both of them at once? It would be their right considering that Tuji was the challenger. The faekin woman’s back hit the trunk of a tree finally, her wide green eyes widening as far as they could go. She kept her eyes glued on Tuji as she unsheathed a pair of long daggers from twin sheaths tied to the back of her waist.

Perhaps she would join in the fight as well, after she got her wits together at least. Though, considering how he had laid waste to several other watchers on the way here… Tuji doubted that she would be a threat to him on her own. Perhaps the three would work together?

Hoplite then tilted his smooth helmet toward the shaking elf woman and asked “Pillar-Born?”

Tuji felt his jaw drop as he heard the question in Hoplite’s tone. Did Hoplite doubt Tuji’s divine blood!? After he proclaimed himself? This grave insult nearly caused Tuji to leap at Hoplite in a fury, feeling the veins on his neck rising from the metal man’s gall to question Tuji’s true nature. A Pillar-Born proclaiming themselves was never a falsehood. Even without the sanctioning collar, a godling's proclamation was always truth.

After all, mortals themselves could not claim any of the gods as their parents. A mortal’s tongue would falter if they attempted to claim descent from divinity.To put it simply; a mortal could not declare themselves as the child of any deity… though not everyone believed that was the truth. After all, in a world where godlings like himself were a thing to be hated and feared, why would anyone with sense even try to declare themselves? Thus were the sanctioning bands made, though in truth, they had been mostly used for interrogation in the current age. The collars were intended by their long-dead creators to simply be used for revealing suspected demi-gods… but when the age that gave the collar life was ended, it found… new uses. The truth was the truth after all, and the sanctioning band pulled all truths free of lying lips.

Tuji gripped the collar around his neck and ripped it free violently, the metal bending beneath his grasp as he tossed it aside like trash. As the broken band bounced across the grass, it almost immediately shrunk, the metal fusing itself back together as it came to rest flat in a patch of dirt. Tuji huffed angrily and turned to glare at Hoplite once more, the anger within Tuji still at a boil for the metal man to dare question his words.

Hoplite then began tearing away the various things that had been tied to his armor, much of it looking like camping equipment. Letting it fall to the dirt without a care as he drew his own, much larger thunderstaff from his back, aiming it right at Tuji. That could count as consent right? Aiming your weapon upon an opponent that you challenged?

Tuji grinned as he decided that yes, that could technically mean that Hoplite had accepted his invitation to fight. He crouched low and glared at the large barrelled thunderstaff. Should he try and just take the blast? These weapons were different from what he had faced in the Blastlands… perhaps they may be able to pierce his steel flesh? It was risky and certainly foolish… but Tuji decided that he would try and take the blast. This was as he had done his whole life, and he had been able to reflect the bullets of the dragon-men, surely these mortal’s thunderstaves couldn’t be nearly as powerful as the ones in the Blastlands.

Tuji grinned, and shot forward at blinding speed. He doubted that Hoplite would be able to pull the trigger before Tuji reached-

Hoplite pulled the trigger before Tuji was even half-way to him, and Tuji felt his feet leave the earth as he was blown backward from the shocking force of the thunderstaff. He had been hit with blunderbusses before, but nothing could compare with the blast that Tuji had just suffered. The air was knocked free from his lungs and he saw his own blood fly before his eyes in droplets. His chest was wracked with agony; his flesh feeling like it had been cratered.

Tuji coughed as he hit the ground, lifting up his head to stare bewildered at Hoplite-

Before the second human pulled the trigger on his own thunderstaff, the bullet hitting Tuji dead in the forehead and knocking his skull back to the dirt. Tuji’s world began to spin violently and he awkwardly scrambled to his feet, quickly ducking behind a nearby tree as Hoplite and the smaller human opened fire again. The rounds impacted against the trunk of the tree, ripping straight through it to collide with Tuji’s back, though thankfully the force of the bullets had been significantly reduced by their passage through the tree.

They still kicked him forward off of the tree for an instant though, those rounds would have instantly killed a lesser Pillar-Born. Dangerous weapons those… He quickly turned, his dizziness already fading as he began scrambling up the tree, the goose egg on his forehead shrinking as the little flattened slugs in his chest were pushed out of regenerating flesh. Tuji looked down briefly to see the glinting metal of the slugs falling free from his closing wounds. He was shocked to see just how massive the holes were in his chest before they had completely resealed.

They were the size of a man's hand. Scar tissue quickly formed over the wound, and Tuji supplemented the growing hunger in his gut with Foundation to keep his body mass from shrinking, tapping into the Golden Flame and letting it energize him. Heat spread through his chest, painful at first, as it always was when drawing on Foundation’s Flame. Tuji gasped as he reached a high point on the tree, almost taking in too much of the Flame for his body to handle. The radiant life filling him was dangerous… for he always wished to draw in more than what he could handle.

It was power, life, energy… it made him feel oh so grand… but if he drew too much of the alluring Golden Flame then it would engulf him, and that would be the end of Tuji, Pillar-Born or no. He did not perch upon the high branch he found himself next to, instead opting to punch his fingers into the trunk of the tree to keep him anchored. He knew that the two humans would open fire upon Tuji the instant he showed himself… so he needed to be careful. Were they talking to one another right now? Were they planning on flanking him or would they keep firing through the tree? Tuji still couldn’t hear anything, the ringing in his ears blotting out everything but his own heartbeat.

If the humans were coming up with a battle plan, Tuji unfortunately wouldn’t be able to hear it. But then… wouldn’t they too be deafened by the sound of those thunderstaves? Perhaps the smaller human was, but Hoplite’s helmet could have dimmed the sound to a tolerable level. Tuji didn’t discount the strong possibility that those two could be using hand-talk to plan.

Tuji would have to ambush them; he would start with the smaller human and then take care of the elf if she decided to join in on the combat. The problem was that he would come under fire again as soon as he showed himself. The blunderbuss Hoplite wielded could potentially knock Tuji out of the air if he tried to jump to a nearby tree… that thing packed a real wallop. Tuji unstuck one of his hands from the tree, rubbing at his forehead gingerly where the goose egg had been. Tuji found that he still couldn’t hear anything, his ears still filled with that all-encompassing high pitched ringing.

His face was then split by a mad grin, feeling the scar form on his forehead beneath his fingers. Finally after what felt like forever, he found something that could hurt him again! Another blast from presumably Hoplite’s blunderbuss rang out, deafening Tuji further as the trunk of the tree below where he had been was torn asunder. Maybe they thought Tuji was still there, or maybe…

Maybe they were cutting it down because they heard Tuji ascend the tree? That blunderbuss certainly had the power to destroy the trunk…

Tuji’s assumption had proved to be correct as the tree began to tilt forward. Glee filled him as he felt gravity tugging the tree in Hoplite’s direction. Tuji cheered as he fell with the tree, reveling in the thrill of this unique battle. He unstuck his other hand, running up the length of the tree as it continued its fall. When Tuji reached a thick branch on the tall tree blocking his path, he leaped from it, spotting Hoplite readying his shotgun and aiming it at Tuji. The metal man stood tall, directly to the right of where the tree was going to land.

He saw that the other human was ushering the elf away, likely to keep her away from the fighting. Tuji watched them as his perception of time slowed, slinking off into the forest left of the falling tree. Before they were completely out of Tuji’s sight, he could see the human hand something small to the faekin… something metal from the belt at his waist. Could it be a pistol, like the ones from the Blastlands? If the human was handing her a weapon, why then were they both fleeing?

Perhaps it was to set up an ambush, or maybe the human just wanted the faekin woman to have a weapon capable of harming Tuji in case he gave chase.

Well, until he knew for sure, Tuji would consider their retreat a victory over them, as they had likely given up on the fight. His main target was still ready to battle at least! Tuji raised his arms in an X across his broad torso, feeling Hoplite’s slugs tear into his hardened arms. Pain racked everywhere the scattershot struck him, and Tuji once again drew on Foundation to energize his regeneration.

While not as dangerous to draw on such a massive amount of Foundation twice in a row, he put himself at risk of Singeing his string… but if he let his body do all the regenerating on its own… his body mass would deplete and Tuji would be left skinny and weak. The warmth spreading through him helped ease the pain of the shot he had just endured, but before he could fully heal from the fresh set of wounds Hoplite fired his blunderbuss again.

The shells impacted with the regenerated portions of his skin, deeply bruising but not penetrating the flesh as they had just a moment before. When they hit his still wounded arms however…

Tuji felt the bones in his forearms crack as the slugs collided with them, and he screamed as another blast rocked him, knocking him back out of the air to land on his back. Tuji would have to draw more Foundation to keep up with these injuries… Tuji hoped that he’d not be burned by Draoi for his greed. There was a thrill in drawing in this much Foundation as well, he realized.

Risking sudden immolation in the heat of a dangerous battle? It was an intoxicating feeling. He immediately flipped when his back met earth, landing on all fours and darting toward Hoplite like a feral wolf. The blunderbuss fired again, and again, knocking him back each time and forcing Tuji to draw in more Foundation to keep from degenerating into a husk. When was the last time he’d been this close to death?

The jungles surely, when he first began his journey to become the strongest creature on Ahkoolis. That, and his first encounter with a fellow Pillar-Born… That man Tuji would slay as well, for surely he would grow far stronger than he with time.

Tuji would prove his might to Hoplite now by breaking that armor! As the slugs fell free from his cratered torso, Hoplite stopped firing. Likely there wasn’t any more shot left in the blunderbuss, and surely he must have known that there wouldn’t be any time to reload that thing.

As Tuji reached Hoplite, he tackled the man’s knees, pinching them together and leaning his weight into his shoulder to knock the big man to the grass. It took all the strength Tuji could muster to pinch them together, the veins across his muscles all popping as his muscles strained to complete the maneuver. The blunderbuss fell from Hoplite's grasp as Tuji just barely managed to pinch those knees together with a clang of metal on metal, and Hoplite went falling like the tree he had shot down.

The two rolled, Tuji feeling the breath leave his body everytime Hoplite managed to get atop of him. The suit was heavy… How strong did Hoplite have to be in order to move in such a bulky suit? Tuji supposed that he should have been happy that Hoplite wasn’t out of the armor, for surely he would have been even faster without it’s bulk to slow him.

When Tuji rolled atop Hoplite again, he felt himself being lifted into the air as Hoplite had somehow managed to get one massive sabaton onto Tuji’s hip. Hoplite then kicked, sending Tuji flying a good several paces away to land on his back. Tuji cackled madly as he immediately came to his feet and darted forward as Hoplite still was rising from the ground.

Their hands locked as Hoplite got to one knee, and Tuji squeezed those gauntlets as hard as he could. He fully expected to crush Hoplite’s hands beneath the force of his grip, there was no metal that Tuji could not destroy with his might! Tuji grit his teeth together as he continued to apply pressure… but… what!?

His eyes widened as the metal didn’t obey reality, standing firm and strong beneath Tuji’s steel-crushing strength. How could this be? Steel had proven to be as paper beneath his strength… what was this armor made out of that it could resist a demi-god’s power!?

Giving up on crushing the metal, Tuji instead began straining against Hoplite in an attempt to keep the big man from rising. He glared into that featureless helmet as he strained every muscle in his body, trying to knock the human to his back. To Tuji’s simultaneous horror and elation, Hoplite stood, and began pushing Tuji back.

They locked for a moment, both straining to shove the other back. Then Tuji felt his feet dragging through the grass behind him as Hoplite proved that his own strength was somehow greater than Tuji’s. This hadn’t happened since his last encounter with a fellow Pillar-Born… one that he barely survived. A battle that Tuji had definitely lost. Was it possible that Hoplite was one of them? A Pillar-Born?

Suddenly, Hoplite stopped pushing, and yanked Tuji’s hands instead. Tuji flew forward with the momentum, meeting that smooth helmet. Tuji’s nose flattened beneath it, blood exploding from flattened nostrils. Tuji, being dazed, could then not stop Hoplite from slamming him into the dirt by his wrists. Again and again Hoplite slammed him into the earth, cratering the ground with dizzying speed. Foundation rebuilt his nose during this brutal slamming, and he growled as he tried to right himself to fight back.

Tuji’s counter attack was interrupted as Hoplite tossed him through the air; Tuji then collided with a tree and snapped the trunk backward, the air leaving his lungs in a rasp. Tuji took note that he had heard the wood crunching beneath his flesh… at least his hearing was back. He moved to stand when Hoplite rammed his metal shoulder plate into Tuji’s chest, knocking the wind free of his lungs and back into the trunk. The tree bent even further backward and began falling in Hoplite’s direction, who stepped aside to let Tuji take the brunt of the fall.

It smushed Tuji against the forest floor as the tall tree came crashing down on his back, and he grit his teeth as he slid his hands beneath him, pushing up to roll the tree off his back. As that happened, Hoplite drew a long knife from a sheath on his shoulder, holding it in a reversed grip. Tuji quickly got to his feet as Hoplite darted forward, intent on stabbing the godling through the throat.

Tuji gasped as he barely avoided the strike, by jumping backward over the tree, flipping to land on his feet with acrobatic grace. Hoplite followed immediately after, jumping high over the thick trunk and charging at Tuji with his blade ready to gut the Pillar-Born. Hoplite pushed forward with expert slashes,Tuji barely being able to dodge the rapid slashes. Hoplite pushed Tuji’s reflexes to their limit, for even when time seemed to slow to his perspective, Hoplite was still able to keep Tuji on the defensive.

If Hoplite’s thunderstaff could injure Tuji, what could his knife be capable of? If that thing hit his brain there was a good chance that Tuji couldn’t regenerate from that… at least Tuji most likely wouldn’t be right after it re-grew. The speed in which Hoplite swung would have been too fast for a mortal to keep track of, and if Tuji even blinked that blade would find purchase in one of his vitals.

Hoplite swung again, backing Tuji into another tree and rearing back for a stab. Tuji barely side-stepped the blade as it sunk deep into the bark as if the wood were butter. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tuji lashed out with a fist, smashing it into the side of Hoplite’s helmet and knocking the metal man’s head down hard into his own shoulder plate. The blow slowed very briefly before colliding… was Tuji slowing down? He could fight all day if need be, stamina was no issue for him. So why had his punch slowed? Was it his imagination?

The clang of steel fist on metal echoed through the forest, and Hoplite's helmet proved its durability by not even denting beneath the force of the strike.

The big man though? Hoplite stumbled away slightly after the blow connected, and Tuji darted forward, lifting his fists up beneath his eyes as he approached. Tuji lashed out again with a fast jab, closing into Hoplite’s guard and feeling that odd resistance once more. It really was there! It briefly slowed Tuji’s attack before it connected with Hoplite’s chestplate, it couldn’t have been his imagination.

That same force must have slowed Tuji’s haymaker before it had collided with Hoplite’s helmet; it was almost like an invisible wall had been erected around the metal man to protect him from the attack. Perhaps it was magic? Tuji’s punch may have been slowed down by this strange force, but the strike still clearly had its intended effect. While Hoplite’s helmet protected his flesh from Tuji, the power of the Tuji’s first punch would have still dazed Hoplite as it traveled through the helmet. It was amazing that the force of Tuji’s punch didn’t simply kill Hoplite, even with the strange magic shield protecting him… what an amazing man!

The sound of Tuji’s fists pounding metal was almost deafening as it rang throughout the forest. Ribs, the head, kicks to the legs, Tuji struck him what felt like a hundred times, yet the armor never dented beneath his blows. That strange force then suddenly… popped with an electric crackle, shocking Tuji’s hands. He didn’t stop his barrage however, battering Hoplite with renewed vigor and forcing him back into the middle of the clearing. Hoplite was now taking Tuji’s full strength now that his magic shield was gone… but still the metal held strong.

Dwarf-made for certain, though the blunt trauma Hoplite suffered would kill him. Tuji just had to keep striking until-

Suddenly, Hoplite grabbed Tuji, lifting him up in a bear hug as those powerful metal arms began to squeeze. Tuji felt ribs begin creaking together as Hoplite began crushing him against his chestplate. Tuji growled, and began striking that metal dome again, knocking Hoplite’s head around to daze him once more. Yet this time… the man didn’t even stumble slightly.

Why did he not falter now!? He struck again and again as Hoplite applied more pressure, and Tuji felt his eyes begin to pop. No, he would not die like this! Tuji again drew on Foundation’s Flame, feeling it flood him with its might. Now he would-

Something struck the back of Tuji’s head then, knocking it forward and interrupting his connection with the Golden Flame. Dazed, he lifted his head back up, turning to see the younger human with his thunderstaff atop the tree that had earlier trapped Tuji. Next to him the faekin woman stood, the barrel of her pistol smoking as she stared at Tuji, her face pale with fear.

She lowered the pistol, staring down at the weapon with visible awe.

Then the young human fired his thunderstaff, hitting Tuji again in the forehead and knocking his skull back as it had before. Tuji felt his brain knock around in his skull, a wave of nausea coming over him. Thankfully his skin had hardened after regenerating from the initial shot earlier, but the blast had still dazed him. Tuji floundered for Foundation, searching for the connection to the Flame to help him regenerate from the new damage he’d just sustained.

Before he could reach Foundation however, Tuji felt a massive cold metal thumb dig into his right eye socket. The organ popped beneath the invading digit, and Tuji screamed as the thumb curled, locking onto his eye socket. With his forearm braced against Tuji’s lower back, Hoplite began forcing Tuji backward. Tuji bucked and fought as hard as he could to free himself from Hoplite’s grasp, but the armor didn’t even budge.

He struck at the joint of Hoplite’s arm, hoping to break it at the elbow. His fist bounced off the metal with a loud clang, and Tuji thought he heard a grunt from Hoplite but the elbow didn’t shatter. Tuji tried, again and again, striking the elbow to shatter it to no avail.

Tuji just kept bending and bending until-

Snap.

His mouth quivered as his eye found the human and elf, his view of the world having been turned upside down. Hoplite’s thumb slid out of Tuji’s destroyed eye socket then, blood flowing down to stain his hair; though none would be able to tell where the blood stained his crimson hair.

Hoplite had folded Tuji backward over his forearm like a towel, snapping his spine in half. Tuji’s vision dimmed as he searched for Foundation… for the Golden Flame…

He had to find it… before he…

Everything went cold and black.