"Well, these monsters really gave you a beating, Golden. Can you still stand?" said Maggus as he arrived on the scene, his voice brimming with confidence while releasing a powerful surge that forced the beasts to retreat with an earsplitting roar.
Golden, still gasping for air, clenched his teeth and forced himself to his feet, though his legs trembled slightly. "Of course I could. You know who you're talking to: Avocios's right hand!" he replied proudly, though his ragged breathing betrayed how close he had come to succumbing.
"And you… what are you doing here? Where are the others?" asked Golden, glancing around in search of reinforcements.
Maggus let out a brief but determined laugh. "The others? No, they're not coming. I'm all the cavalry you need. Just you and me… like old times. We'll finish these beasts."
Golden frowned, suspicion creeping into his expression. "Well, about that… It's better if you head back to the castle."
Before Golden could react, Maggus fixed him with a steady gaze and then glanced toward the castle, calculating the trajectory. With a swift motion, he charged immense power into his hand and launched Golden into the air with overwhelming force.
"What are you doing, Maggus?!" Golden shouted as he soared through the air toward the castle, his voice echoing in the distance.
Maggus smiled faintly, though his expression was tinged with melancholy, a mixture of determination and sadness. "Don't worry. Remember, I'm immortal," he said calmly, his voice firm but carrying an almost imperceptible note of vulnerability. "Give my regards to Avocios when you get there. When I'm done with these things, you and I will grab a bite to eat."
But Golden didn't know that Maggus's words were now an empty echo of what they once were. His friend was no longer immortal. The weight of Maggus's newly acquired mortality, his sacrifice, remained hidden behind that resigned smile—a secret he would never reveal.
"MAGGUS!!!" roared Golden as he was sent away from the battlefield, disappearing in the direction of the castle.
Maggus turned to face the Tropogax, his defiant smile illuminated by the reddish glow beginning to emanate from his body. "Alright, it's just you twenty against me," he declared with resolve. From his body surged intense energy, forming vibrant crimson armor. "It's time to finish you off, hideous beasts."
At the castle, Avocios was speaking with Silver, explaining a crucial plan. Silver, visibly sorrowful, listened in silence while holding a newly energized scepter, aware that he had to depart for Avocadalia without telling anyone.
Suddenly, a large streak crossed the sky, crashing near them with a thunderous boom. It was Golden.
"Golden!" exclaimed Silver in surprise.
Golden rose with difficulty, his legs trembling slightly as he clutched his stomach with one hand, the pain from the impact still reverberating with every movement. His breathing was labored, almost like a low growl, and his golden eyes gleamed with a mix of fury and determination.
"What are you doing here, rabid dog? We must return to the battle!" he roared, his voice filled with indignation as he pointed toward the battlefield with a sharp gesture. "Damn you, Maggus! I won't forgive you for this!" he added, grinding his teeth so hard it seemed they might shatter.
The weight of the implied betrayal in Maggus's actions gnawed at him from within, but beyond the anger, there was a flicker of concern in his gaze. He knew something wasn't right.
At that moment, Avocios had a revelation. He turned to Silver with seriousness. "It is time. This scepter must be passed on to the next in line."
Golden, seeing that Silver was preparing to leave, confronted him with a rage. "Don't run away, you cowardly dog! Return to the battlefield!"
However, Avocios quickly intervened. With an elegant gesture, he made Golden float in the air, stopping him before he could advance. "I know you're stubborn, my friend Golden, but today you will not die. It is time for you to live."
"Master!" cried Toco-Toco, watching as Golden was restrained against his will.
Without giving them time to protest, Avocios enveloped both Golden and Toco-Toco in a bright sphere of light, which began to rise into the air and quickly fade away.
Outside the hall, Golden's shouts alerted Meliradal, Kilibur, and Krasper, who burst through the doors. Upon seeing what Avocios had done, they were left stunned.
"My lord, why did you do that?" asked Meliradal, incredulous.
Kilibur added indignantly, "Lord! How could you do this to one of your guardians?"
Krasper, with his shield ready to unleash a bolt of energy, protested, "This isn't right. Golden will think we're traitors."
Avocios looked at them calmly, though his voice carried a firm tone. "Calm yourselves. Someday you will understand. Now go, Silver."
"You may not understand now either, but perhaps in a few years, you will."
At that moment, Meliradal vanished in a flash of light, teleported to Fuertelia, where she was sealed inside a lonely mountain. Kilibur, on the other hand, was sent to wander aimlessly through the forests of Pinkertalia, a place filled with eternal mist and endless paths.
Krasper tried to protest again, but Avocios stopped him with a look tinged with sadness. "I know you want to save your friends, but for their sake, it is better to let them go. Today I will fall, but I want them to live happily. I cannot allow my guardians to suffer for me."
With a final gesture, he sent Krasper to the mountains where Treelion, the ancient tree, had its deep roots. "I'm sorry, my children, but I cannot let you die for me."
Meanwhile, Tejod's army had already reached the castle. The troops advanced like a dark tide, destroying everything in their path. "Finally, we're here! Destroy it all!" Tejod ordered with a cruel smile.
The soldiers began to set fire to the beautiful palace that Avocios had built with such care. The gardens, fields, majestic structures—all that had once been beautiful was reduced to ashes within minutes. The air filled with smoke and screams as flames devoured what remained of Avocios's legacy.
"So here you are, Avocios," said Tejod, approaching with a triumphant expression on his face. He drew his amulet, ready to turn Avocios into jade, but before he could do so, a sinister voice echoed from the shadows.
"No..." murmured the voice, heavy with authority and malice.
A dimensional rift opened before them, and from it emerged a dark figure, a shadow that seemed to absorb all light around it.
"So you were behind all this, 'RULER'," said Avocios, recognizing the dark being.
The shadow let out a deep, rumbling laugh. "I left that name behind long ago. I prefer the title of Urugas, which in the tongue of this world means 'the Lord of Darkness.'"
"Then I will not allow you to return to this world," declared Avocios firmly, launching a powerful attack toward the dimensional portal from which Urugas was emerging.
Urugas barely flinched at the blow, his laughter resonating even louder. "You cannot destroy me with that. You and your siblings know this well. Energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. I will go after each of them once I am done with you."
Avocios clenched his fists, his body radiating an intense light as he created a protective barrier around the portal. "I know that already, but I will hold you in that place for as long as possible. You will not escape from there, ever. You will not win."
Tejod tried to break the barrier with his sword, but it bounced off without causing any harm. "Damn it! I can't destroy this field!" he roared, furious.
Avocios managed to force Urugas back into his dimension, but the dark being did not seem willing to give up so easily. "Soon, Tejod. Use your weapon," Urugas ordered, feeling how Avocios's power was slowly weakening him.
Tejod turned to Meloc, pointing at him urgently. "Use your weapon. Let's hope it works, because if it doesn't, I'll cut off your head."
Meloc nodded nervously and gave the order to the Vichus surrounding the object covered by a large cloth. When they removed it, they revealed a strange machine: a device designed to emit a concentrated beam, connected to a metallic container that resembled a tank.
"Turn it on, Ribras," Meloc commanded, his voice trembling but resolute.
The apparatus sprang to life with an electric hum, emitting a bluish glow as it directed its energy straight toward Avocios. He felt his energies begin to dissipate, as if something were draining his vital power.
"But what is this?" Avocios exclaimed, visibly frightened for the first time.
Tejod smiled cruelly, savoring the moment. "This, my dear world-creating lord, is your downfall."
"NOOOO!" Avocios screamed as he was inexorably pulled toward the machine, his body struggling against a force that seemed impossible to resist.
"Yes, soon I will rule this world and then move on to conquer the entire universe. No place will be free from my dominion," declared Urugas, his voice resonating like a dark thunderclap, laden with unchecked ambition.
Avocios, though weakened, still held a spark of determination in his gaze. "I will not give up while the light of my life remains. You will not escape from there." With his last ounce of strength, Avocios channeled all the energy he had left, transforming his body into a beacon of pure light. The intensity of his power forced Urugas to retreat, trapping him once again in his dark dimension.
Urugas roared in fury as he felt the dimensional chains closing around him once more. "Damn you, Avocios!" he shouted, his voice filled with hatred as he was dragged into the depths of his prison.
Avocios, exhausted but satisfied, issued one final warning before being consumed by the machine. "We will meet again," he murmured, just as his body was swallowed by the device and deposited into the metallic container.
Silence enveloped the place for a moment, broken only by the residual hum of the machine.
"Yes, we did it, Lord Meloc!" one of his assistants exclaimed, breaking the silence with a mix of awe and jubilation.
Meloc took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling with a barely perceptible tremor as he tried to calm himself. He opened his mouth to speak, to say "I did it…," but before he could finish the sentence, his eyes met Ribras's. Ribras was looking at him with a stern expression, almost as if evaluating every movement, every word.
But then, something shifted in Meloc as he saw his colleague's expression. "We did it," he finally said, his voice trembling but filled with a satisfaction he couldn't conceal. It was as if the words themselves vibrated with the weight of what they had just accomplished.
Tejod observed everything with a mix of astonishment and frustration. He had captured a god, something that seemed impossible, but Urugas could not yet be freed on this plane. His plan was still incomplete.
"Lord Urugas, I have failed," Tejod said, bowing before the dimensional rift that was beginning to close.
From the shadows, Urugas's voice resonated once more, now weaker but no less authoritative. "Calm yourself, boy. This is not yet over. This is only the beginning. Go and seek out those who carry Avocios's light and shatter them. Only then can I return."
Urugas's voice faded slowly as he retreated back into his slumber, leaving Tejod with a clear mission.
"So I will do it, my lord. So I will," Tejod vowed, raising his head with renewed determination.
Turning toward his soldiers, Tejod commanded in a firm voice: "What are you looking at, soldiers? Continue the destruction of this place. Leave nothing but barren wasteland."
The soldiers obeyed without hesitation, resuming their task with renewed ferocity. The last remnants of the palace were reduced to rubble, and the fields that had once flourished under Avocios's care were transformed into an arid and desolate desert. Avocios's legacy appeared to have been erased completely… but in the hearts of those who still believed in his light, hope remained alive.