“What’s going on?” the Scavenger asked a warrior. “Why are you attacking my friend?”
“Your friend,” the first man said, “is in reality, the King of the undead.”
“What, like Hades?” James asked.
“No,” the same man replied. “Hades is the god of the dead. He’s a myth.” The man scowled at No One. “He’s the King of the undead. And he’s quite real. The problem is that he favours evil and chaos. Also, he locked us up in a tomb made up of bones.”
“I told you I didn’t know which side I was on at that moment!” No One explained to the Scavenger. “I was confused. But, my mind has complete clarity now. I know what’s right. You have to believe me!”
“Wait.” The Scavenger looked at No One. “But in the forest, when we first met you, you were being chased by some warriors and -”
“That was an act,” No One interrupted. “I heard you were searching for the Knight. I wanted to join you. Those warriors helped me. I disguised myself in the garb of a beaten warrior, and those warriors chased me. I knew you are good guys and would help me.”
The Scavenger sighed. “I should have known you were someone special when I first saw you. Five eyes.”
No One nodded. “No matter how many disguises I take, the five eyes always remain.”
“Because you can’t disguise the fact that you’re evil!” one of the four warriors said, snarling.
“Can we talk about that later?” the Scavenger said, stepping in. “Introductions first, please.”
“I am Paragon,” one of them said. His face flipped to that of a lion before turning back to that of a human. “I am the leader of us Gods.”
“I am Rath,” another said. His face changed to a tiger.
“I am Venoz,” the third one said. His face turned to that of a snake.
“And I am Oni, the fourth one said. His face resembled that of a bear.
“Do you always take the form of animals?” the Scavenger asked.
“No,” Paragon said. “Not always. But we favour it. We can control many other things like metal, air, portals or other magic elements. Anyway, that’s not important.”
The Scavenger asked Paragon, “But I still don’t get who are you, and why did Aronicle choose you as allies?”
“I will explain all of it to you,” Paragon said. “Earth’s not the only planet that has life in the Universe. There are many. Gods and Demons reside in different planets. Demons favour chaos, darkness, evil, death. But Gods favour the opposite.” Paragon glared at No One.
“When Arcane created the Dark World, he didn’t entirely trust either the Gods or the Demons. He thought of Gods as good forces but... unstable ones. Let me tell you, Arcane wasn’t wrong.” The warrior looked at No One briefly and looked back at the Scavenger. “Due to the mutual mistrust, a war broke out between the Gods and Demons that continued for several centuries. It was finally over when only a few Gods and Demons were left. The impact of the war was so huge that it destroyed several planets, incurring millions of casualties. The protective layer created by Arcane around the Dark World also got broken. This is where the Slayer comes in. Once the Slayer is formed, the protective layer will get repaired by its energy.”
“I can connect what you have said with what Lynx told us long ago. Where are these few Gods that remain?” the Scavenger asked.
“We’re the only ones left. Aronicle chose us as allies as we share common values of goodness. We have come to assist you in your mission,” Paragon replied.
“I am honoured. I am thankful that four, I mean, five Gods are with us now,” the Scavenger exclaimed, looking at No One. “Our strengths have increased many times due to your joining us.”
“Yep.” No One grinned.
Paragon fumed at No One. “This evil creature has to leave.”
“I told you, I have changed sides!” No One said exasperatedly. “What part of that do you not understand?”
“Changing sides, my foot!” Rath snarled. “You are one backstabbing wretch! I don’t trust you.”
“Look, you can recall the past instances where I have helped,” No One said to the Scavenger. “Do you think I could have done that if I had plans to betray you?”
The Scavenger looked straight in his eyes and said, “No One, I trust you. You are going to be with us.”
The Scavenger turned to Paragon. “Look here, Paragon, you told us that even Lord Arcane considered the Gods as unstable. Similarly, No One also might have had some unstable characteristics in the past, but now he’s all right. I trust No One. He is a God, after all.”
Paragon looked at No One. “Okay. We will keep an eye on you. Any wrong moves, and we won’t hesitate to kill you.”
“Of course,” No One said in a tone conveying thanks to the Scavenger and the others.
“Before anything else, are there any more surprises?” the Scavenger said. “I feel like my head is about to burst.”
“No, I think that’s all,” No One said, grinning.
Paragon said, “We need to move towards the Castle of Fate immediately. It will be our base for the war.”
The Scavenger nodded. “Yes. From there, we will prepare strategies and ask all those opposed to the Skull Warrior to join us.”
Paragon interjected, “Why can’t we send the message at once? It’s simple for me to do so.”
Paragon closed his eyes. A few seconds later, there was a sudden murmuring inside everyone’s head. It said, “To all those who are opposed to the Skull Warrior’s rule – we are fighting back. The Scavenger, along with the Elemental children, has arrived. Come to the Castle of Fate immediately. We need all the help we can get.”
Matt clutched his head. “What was that?”
Paragon smiled. “All the people in the Dark World will hear this message in their heads. Well, not all. As soon as the message senses some evil in any mind, it will not display itself in that person’s head. We need
