Ferro did good work. Unfortunately, that goes both ways. Oren's old armor and blade suit Tyranos well but at least Oren is able to stand against the God of Tyranny now, going toe to toe with him as they fight right there in Law's old sanctum.

Being back here again after all this time is… an experience to say the least. Facing Tyranos down, challenging the deranged King of the Void on his selfish plans… it felt good. It felt right. Being here to finally put an end to Tyranos' madness was right where Oren was supposed to be.

Privately, the only thing he'd change if he could… is Sophia's presence. The Goddess of Misfortune and Folly is Oren's key weak point in all of this. Even as he and Tyranos exchange blows, fighting back and forth across the throne room, he keeps an eye on her at all time.

To her credit, Sophia is staying well away from the two of them. The Goddess knows she's not a proper combatant, and from the look of things she's calling upon her divine power to wreath herself in her domains. She's as ready as she possibly could be in the event that Tyranos turns on her all of a sudden.

The problem with that is, 'as ready as she possibly can be' isn't good enough. Tyranos could be on top of Sophia in half a second and there wouldn't be anything that the goddess could do to stop him.

So then why? Why is he barely paying her any mind? All of the God of Tyranny's focus is on Oren right now. Every ounce of his attention is on the Otherworlder and trying to kill him. Frankly, it's a miracle that Oren is giving as good as he gets and actually standing his ground. Or maybe it's just a sign of the times.

Tyranos is stronger than Law was when Oren fought the King of the Heavens here all those months ago. But then of course he would be, given he hadn't hobbled himself for hundreds of years to suppress another deity's true domains.

However… just because he hasn't hobbled himself doesn't mean he hasn't BEEN hobbled. Or more accurately, been humbled. Sophia's curses have clearly taken their toll on the Ancient God and while they seem to have worn off by this point, they'd done their job all the same.

The Ancient Gods of the Mortal Planes had also done their part, for all that they'd died all the same. Tyranos wasn't as powerful as he could have been. And Oren… Oren was a lot stronger than he'd been previously.

Since fighting Law, Oren had trained his endurance, his speed, and his strength. His endurance had been pushed beyond its limits when he'd ran himself and Sophia from the town of Oakvale to her refuge without stopping and without sleeping. His speed had grown in leaps and bound when he'd roped Tyranos and Sophia into games of tag disguised as training exercises on the way to the waterfall cave.

And finally, his strength had been tested over and over again in the past two weeks under the watchful eye of Ferro. The God of Forges had worked Oren to the bone repeatedly, quite literally pushing him to exhaustion time and time again. Something Oren hadn't felt in ages… almost as though Ferro knew just how to train an Otherworlder, just how to best take advantage of that limitless potential.

Now? Now Oren moves like lightning and flows like water. His armor and sword might not be as visually impressive as Tyranos', but even unadorned they're still the last masterworks of the God of Smithing. Ferro had bled for both sets of armor… but he'd only died for one.

It takes Oren a long time to realize the truth about why Tyranos is refusing to go after Sophia… but when he finally does he lets out a laugh of surprise.

Pushing off of one another yet again, they both pause for a moment as Tyranos tilts his head to the side.

"And what do you find so funny, Otherworlder?"

Rather than respond with words, Oren just steps forward and forces them into another blade lock. He's not about to tell Tyranos what he's realized, after all. It might enrage the God of Tyranny enough to make him change his game plan. Still, the truth is quite amusing for the Otherworlder.

The God of Tyranny and Conquest… is scared. That's why he's not going after Sophia. That's why he's so single mindedly focused on Oren. He's afraid. Once bitten, twice shy and all that rot. Sophia's curses have given Tyranos no end of trouble. And clearly left him with some amount of trauma as well.

Like a child learning the hard way by sticking their hand in fire, Tyranos has been burned before… and isn't about to make the same mistake twice. The King of the Void, the self-proclaimed God-King of Creation, is afraid of Sophia's domains.

Of course, as wonderful as that is, it doesn't change the fact that Oren still needs to win here. He has no doubt that if Tyranos succeeds in killing him, the God of Tyranny won't let his fear keep him from snuffing out Sophia's life for long. Much like someone stomping out a fire with their foot, the threat Sophia poses is only as good as the defender standing between her and certain death.

And that defender is him. Tyranos can't risk going after Sophia as long as Oren still draws breath even without the instilled fear of her domains because Oren is so much more of a threat now. The moment the God of Tyranny stops focusing on Oren for even a moment, the Otherworlder will be able to take advantage of that to slip through his defenses and end him right then and there.

As their swords continue to clash, sparks flying everywhere and neither of them really giving up ground, Oren actually begins to feel like they can maybe win this thing. All he has to do is keep this up… something that he's uniquely suited for after everything he's been put through.

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"You… insipid… little… ant."

Tyranos snarls as Oren presses his assault, matching him blow for blow but seeming very angry about how evenly matched they are.

"All you had to do… was die at my brother's hand. All you had to do was weaken him… and then let him dispose of you."

Snorting derisively, Oren leans forward into their latest blade lock.

"Sorry I didn't… meet expectations!"

With a roar, he pushes Tyranos back a step, breaking the blade lock and immediately going for another swing. The God of Tyranny dodges and then has to block the next blow, growling as Oren puts him on the back foot for a brief moment before he gets his equilibrium back.

Perhaps detecting the taunting, mocking tone in Oren's voice, given that the Otherworlder really wasn't hiding it, Tyranos snarls.

"You think anything crafted by your hands with Ferro's help will be as good as something crafted by his hands? My brother was the greatest blacksmith to ever live. Nothing you create, even with his assistance, can hold a candle to his masterpieces."

Oren's eyes narrow at that. It would seem Tyranos had put it all together, though he can't say he's very surprised by that fact. Showing up with an armor and sword of this quality, it became abundantly obvious what Oren and Sophia had done.

Still, part of him can't help but be incensed on Ferro's behalf.

"You're right. He was the greatest blacksmith to ever live. And you maimed him, monster. It's in his name as much as anyone else that I'm going to put you down like the dog you are today, Tyranos."

Pressing forward once more, he tries to find an opening in Tyranos' defenses. Unfortunately, it's not easy. The God of Tyranny has one clear advantage on Oren even after everything that's been done to even the scales. Experience.

Oren must have fought a thousand spars against Raythe over those years that they were training him up to be the big damn 'hero'. He must have fought a thousand more battles since from the Heavens to the Mortal Planes to here and now in this moment.

But if Oren has fought thousands of battles, then Tyranos has fought hundreds of thousands. The Ancient God has been around for millennia and just based on Oren's own experiences in the Void, he highly doubted Tyranos had simply rested on his laurels there as well. The God of Tyranny has probably had plenty of challengers, deities who had never even made it out of the Void… because Tyranos had killed them.

His form is impeccable and his every movement is immaculate. There's no wasted energy and not even the most minor mistake for Oren to take advantage of.

In the end… Oren thinks he's going to have to exhaust the Ancient God. It was an idea that would have seemed ludicrous back on the Mortal Planes when they'd been traveling together. But Oren wasn't the same man he was back then… nor was Tyranos the same god.

Seeming to almost be reading Oren's thoughts, Tyranos snarls again as those last words flicker across his mind.

"You mortals have always been so good at deluding yourselves into believing that you matter. Otherworlders were the worst offenders of this. None of you are worth anything more than the submission, service, and entertainment you can provide your betters."

Grunting, Oren brings his sword down again.

"Funny. Feels like you're the one entertaining me at this rate."

Tyranos growls and slides his own sword along Oren's blade, aiming for his armored fingers. Oren disengages before the Ancient God's strike can land.

"You think you can win. You think you can beat me."

It's spat out almost like an accusation. Oren hesitates for only a moment before responding.

"I know I can. It's only a matter of time, Tyranos. I'm matching you blow for blow, but for all that you're a god… I'm an Otherworlder. And I can keep going for a long, long time."

That brings Tyranos up short for a heartbeat. One that Oren tries to capitalize on and even manages to strike him for the first time since their battle began. The sword unfortunately doesn't find purchase in any of the Ancient God's weak spots however, and in the end Oren's blade is once again turned aside before he can reposition it for a better angle.

For a few seconds, they return to fighting in silence, their blades clashing and locking together over and over again. Finally though, Tyranos lets out a rattling sigh.

"So that's how you think you'll win. That's how you've convinced yourself that you'll take me down. Time. You think you're going to wear me out."

Oren clenches his jaw at that. He doesn't like the tone Tyranos is using, but then that's probably the point. The almost casual, nonchalant way that the God of Tyranny exposes Oren's admittedly simplistic battle plan is likely intended to agitate and aggravate Oren. He can't let the Ancient God get to him.

"Outlasting an Ancient God… is exactly the sort of delusion that I would expect from someone like you, Otherworlder."

Suddenly, Tyranos' blade comes down on him and Oren barely has time to raise his own sword and block. This time though, the blow that he blocks is at least twice as powerful as any of the previous ones. Oren's eyes widen, even as the eyeholes of Tyranos' helmet suddenly glow with red, malevolent energy.

"Did you really think I was that weakened, Otherworlder? Did you think that you stood on equal footing with me after just a few short weeks apart?"

Tyranos laughs then, pressing down with more might than Oren had thought he had. Ultimately, he's forced to disengage and take a step back, creating distance. Or rather, trying to. Tyranos is on top of him again the moment he does so, pressing forward and forcing Oren purely onto the defensive as he laughs and laughs.

"I am the God of Tyranny and Conquest, Otherworlder! Did you like my collection of trophies on your way here? Did you think I left them like that purely for the art of it all?! Bahahaha!"

Oren's blood turns to ice in his veins at that declaration. It couldn't be… and yet, as Tyranos seems to straighten up from a slump Oren hadn't even realized he was in, it seems they'd underestimated the Ancient God.

"Did you think I killed the others just for fun? Or because they might challenge me and get in my way? No, of course not. I killed them for power. I slaughtered them for strength. I bathed in their blood, Otherworlder. I reduced them to their most basic, useful components. I made their might my might, their strength my strength, and their power my power."

With a particularly powerful blow, Tyranos sends Oren skidding back across the throne room, his bones rattling from the block he just barely managed to pull off. He keeps his feet thankfully, but even that's a close call.

Meanwhile, Tyranos just spreads his arms wide, sword held aloft in one hand. For the first time since they began fighting, he turns his head in Sophia's direction as well, though thankfully he doesn't strike at her.

"You do not fight just me, Otherworlder. Niece. You fight the combined power of every deity I've killed. Did you think this would be easy? Did you think you had a chance? No… from the very beginning, all you've done is delay the inevitable."

Slowly, Tyranos brings his arms down and once more wraps both hands around the hilt of his blade, which he points unerringly at Oren's chest.

"There is only one way this ends."

And then, he moves for real as Oren realizes just how much of a fool he's been.

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