Luna watched the first drop of rain hit the sidewalk as the first Forsaken rounded the corner. "You're up, Mender!"

Stepping up to the doorway, he slammed his staff into the ground and flooded the street with fire. "I'll maintain the entrance! Kill them!"

Luna dropped to all fours and rapidly changed to her Soul Form. Growing to a massive proportion, he charged into the rain. The drops sizzled as they struck her flesh, creating steam as her fire licked at them.

The first Forsaken to reach her was a scorpion that had been missed the day before. It entered the Consecration field and immolated before she bit down on its head, ending its life.

Spreading her Soul Senses out as much as she could, she felt hundreds of souls approaching her. They were pushing one another and climbing over each other to reach her.

Starting her Soul Siphon, she latched onto as many as she could. Dozens of souls were pulled to her, killing some of the weaker Forsaken outright, while others pushed on.

Snarling, she didn't wait for them to enter Mender's field. She charged and leaped into a group of the monsters, slashing with her claws and tearing with her fangs. Blood quickly coated her body as souls flowed into her.

"They are on the building!" Mother shouted in her head.

Snapping her attention to the grocery store, she felt magic creating a barrier against the Forsaken. Still, over one hundred Forsaken had clung to the building and were bashing the barrier, trying to crack it.

Switching her Siphon to those on the walls and roof, she howled. The wind obeyed her and started spinning around her body. Soon, a whirlwind of razor sharp blades was pushed toward the store, where it encircled the entire structure and began ripping everything apart.

To her surprise, a notification came through.

Soul Wind: Level 5/10

Chuckling to herself, she felt her energy waning as the whirlwind pulled from her. Keeping it in place, she started tearing into monsters all over again, ripping energy from them to power herself. She was growing stronger, but it still wasn't enough. She needed the others to wake up and help eliminate the monsters.

***

James weaved to the side as a spear of stone was thrust towards his face. Dashing in, he punched Bo in the stomach, launching him back into the horde of monsters.

Summoning his sword, James charged. With Siphon active, he felt lives snuff out, but no matter how many he killed, the tide of monsters kept coming. The ground was littered with the dead, and the monster below his feet didn't feel like it was weakening in the slightest.

"It's hopeless!" the monster taunted, using Bo's body. "Even you cannot survive this storm!"

Rain hammered down on him, shrinking his range of view. Still, the thousands of souls flickered out over the crater as his Puppet danced among them.

Swinging his blade, he carved through three Minotaur that tried to run him down. Behind them came a giant spider with bladed legs that he force Siphoned and ripped its soul out.

Spinning, he blocked arms and legs coming for his back. Everywhere he looked attacks were threatening to land and bring him to the ground. He was being overrun.

"Do you see it now?" the monster asked. "Your end?"

"Fuck you!" James shouted.

"I will be the one to finally bring down the last god. No more will you walk this world and claim souls. No more will you command my brethren into battle. No more will you decide the fate of humanity and the Underworld!"

Growling, James summoned his Soul Water and projected it into a beam of cutting force. Spinning, he carved through dozens of monsters while absorbing their souls. The area around him was quickly filled in by new life.

"Your soul will be snuffed out," the monster continued. "I can feel it. Your body weakening. Why don't you just give in?"

James raced through the monsters and continued to carve them apart. Attacks landed on his body, but most of them failed to leave lasting damage. His body was growing tougher by the second, and the piddly foes couldn't bring him down.

The souls all around him, blinded him from Bo, but he sensed danger and spun. The monster was behind him, thrusting a glowing fist at his back. Smacking it aside, James put distance between them by knocking over several Forsaken.

Before he could counter, Bo was gone again, hidden among the monsters.

"I'll have to kill your lover and followers," the monster added. "I can already feel their despair. That wolf of yours is surrounded and wearing down. That hellspawn of a dragon will not be able to help her."

"Do you ever stop talking?" James yelled out. "For fuck's sake man! You get a body, and all you do is monologue? I know you want me dead, but you don't have to torture me too."

A laugh filled the air. "If you want me to end this, I can."

Sensing danger again, James thrust his blade behind him and felt it sink into a body harder than all the others. Pushing on the blade further, he felt the resistance disappear before the monster screamed.

"Damn you!"

For a brief moment, James felt the soul of the monster weaken as a large chunk of energy flower through the ground and into Bo. With a smile, James found at least one way to weaken the creature.

"So what are you?" James asked. "You aren't the city, yet you are."

Bo appeared as a face in the crowd for a brief moment. "My kind are eternal. We grow and build and grant sanctuary to our brethren."

"You feed on them," James scoffed. "That's not sanctuary."

Ducking under a leg, he sliced it off at the joint and kicked the monster away. He only had a moment to see what it was, but it was trampled before he could judge it.

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Soul Siphon pulled on everything around him. Dozens of souls were pulled in, filling him with power as his Puppet did the same. Yet, the tide was not thinning. In fact, there seemed to be more Forsaken now, than before.

Something isn't right. I should be seeing an end to the monsters for how many I've killed. Plus, a portion of them are attacking Luna as well. What's going on?

"I see your mind turning," the monster said from by his side.

Slashing out, James's sword struck Bo's arm and was pushed back by the glowing limb. More energy poured from the main body and into the host.

In the distance, James could hear structures collapsing as the city came apart. His eyes widened as he watched Bo vanish into the crowd again.

"You're making the monsters," James stated. "How?"

"I am a creator," the monster stated. "And you are going to die in this crater while I play with your wife's body."

Growling in rage, James focused on the monsters around him and cut them down. Dancing with the fight, he watched as a bolt of lighting brightened the battlefield. For that brief moment, he took in the entire crater. It was packed with monsters and corpses. There was no end in sight.

***

Luna watched as the offices around her crumbled. The stone that they were made from congealed and transformed into humanoid monsters, complete with souls of their own. A vast field of Forsaken streamed toward her, only to be met by Mender's Consecration and burned alive as they tried to approach him.

Having stepped into the fires herself, she felt her numerous wounds heal as she continued to slash and bite the stone creatures. Some were made out of metal that she was forced to Siphon or chew up and spit out. For as far as the eye could see, the buildings were collapsing and becoming something more.

There's no winning…

Minutes of fighting had turned to an hour and her energy was wearing thin. The never ending whirlwind she had created was draining her more and more as she kept the building clear. Mother had the barrier in place and couldn't help, leaving Luna as the only attacker.

I need the others. I'd even take Amber right now if I could.

A surge of energy rose up from the ground, creating more Forsaken from the rubble. The only thing she knew for sure was that the city was growing weaker. It was spending its own soul to create an army to smother her.

Fighting tooth and nail, she was pulled to the ground as dozens of monsters jumped on her back. Rolling in the flames, she tried to get them off, but their bladed hands dug into her flesh and tore chunks of flesh from her body. No matter how fast Mender healed her, she couldn't get free.

Forcing her Siphon to only the few monsters on her, she ripped their souls from their bodies and shook them off. Panting for each breath, she retreated back to Mender and started fighting those that were weakened by the flames.

She was starting to lose hope when four fiery cats raced through the flames and engulfed a swath of monsters. Their incorporeal bodies melted stone and metal, snuffing out flames.

Amber!

As if in answer to her thought, the nekorian staggered up to her side. "Why didn't you wake me?"

She was wearing James's shirt, but Luna didn't let that bother her. Instead, she eyed the cat and whimpered.

Amber patted her side before summoning her Soul Claws. With a shift of her body, she transformed her legs into their feline form and extended claws from her feet. "I better get started."

Before Luna could change back into her human form and talk with the woman, Amber raced into the monsters and yowled. Her claws tore apart the monsters with ease as she seemed to dance.

Luna started to feel hope again when an arrow smashed into a horde of monsters. Flames engulfed five of them, melting them near instantly. A hiss of pain from the roof drew Luna's attention and she found Jamie kneeling and taking aim at another group.

"They're waking up!" Mender yelled.

Thank god!

Luna rested for a moment longer before charging back in. She had help and only needed to last long enough for James to end the fight for good. She couldn't let him down.

***

"You're growing tired!" the monster called out. "Your attacks are getting sloppy!"

James struggled to catch his breath as the monster horde threatened to overwhelm him. More than once, he had struck Bo, only for a portion of energy to infuse the body and rebuild him.

The problem was, the city was massive and had more energy to spend than anything he had fought before. No matter how many monsters he killed and souls he absorbed, the fight wasn't ending. He could tell the monster was growing just as tired as he was.

"I'll out last you!" James taunted.

"Not possible! I have an army that will crush that soul of yours! Even with your godlike body, your muscles can only hold on for so long."

James felt the truth in that, yet didn't stop fighting. With each swing of his sword, he cut through another monster. What had started off as real Forsaken had quickly become odd stone and metal human shaped creatures. They had souls made from the city itself.

James wanted to laugh when he felt desperation from the city. The fight wasn't going the way it planned. Bo kept looking into the distance and growling, and James knew that Luna was staying strong.

"This ends now!" the monster yelled.

A surge of energy infused Bo before he was suddenly standing in front of James. His body glowed white with energy as he struck with his palm.

James twisted, avoiding the worst of the attack, but his ribs still broke and he was flung to the side. Before he could recover, a dozen monsters leapt on him, crushing him to the ground.

A second later, his Soul Puppet was among the throng of monsters, heaving them off. James pushed with his soul, blasting another portion of them from his body. Before they could return, James jumped back to his feet as his ribs mended and his reserves shrank. He had steadily been running out with each minor wound he was taking.

Bo appeared in front of him again, seeming to teleport. James pushed the thrusting fist aside before dropping his Soul Siphon from all but the main monster. Pulling with everything he had, he ripped a chunk of energy free from the creature before grabbing Bo and slamming him into the ground. His friends body broke and he coughed up blood.

Another surge of energy came from the creature and repaired Bo back to working order. James growled as he picked Bo up again and thrust his sword through his stomach.

"Will you kill your friend, just to end me?" the monster asked.

James paused as the words from Mother came back to him. He had to make a choice.

Coughing up blood, the creature pushed more energy into Bo, but it was growing too weak to do much.

"Leave and I'll let you take him with," the creature offered.

James growled, his teeth clenched. "Why should I let you go?"

"Because you wouldn't sacrifice your friend, just to kill me."

James was about to release Bo when he shook his head. He had to make a choice, and there was one thing he knew for a fact. He wasn't yet strong enough. He needed a stronger soul.

"Ahh…there it is," the monster said weakly. "The true thoughts of a god. Your hunger that cannot be contained."

He was tired of listening to the monster. He was tired of the fight and feeling weak. His soul was growing hungry and James knew what he needed to do.

Pulling his sword out of Bo, he stabbed into him again, and again. Each attack pulled more energy from the monster to repair the damage. The creatures around the crater collapsed as the city recalled its souls to fund the repair.

James absorbed all that he could. Then the moment came. He felt his own soul surge with growth as he tipped into level nine. It was as though he had been a child before, and now was stepping onto the path of manhood.

The pure strength crushed the last remaining spark of soul that the creature contained. James felt the world settle as his Soul Senses washed over the city once more. He pushed until he found his friends and how they were awake and exhausted. He felt the kittens and dragons. But he especially felt the vultures and panther that were already racing into the city to aid him.

James dismissed his sword and lowered Bo to the ground. The wound in his stomach was no longer healing and the man's mouth was moving.

"James?" Bo whispered.

"I'm here." Cradling Bo's head in his lap, James wiped the blood from his lip.

"I…heard…everything," Bo wheezed. "Don't…doubt your choice…"

Sniffling, James felt moisture around his eyes. Holding Bo, he could feel the spark of the man's soul dwindling. It was barely more than and ember.

"Finish…my mission…please," Bo pleaded.

"I will," James promised. "I'll make sure Running River leaves your people alone. I won't let them hurt anyone anymore."

"Thank you," Bo whispered.

Taking one last shaky breath, Bo closed his eyes. A moment later, the spark of his soul snuffed out, and James was left alone among a sea of corpses. He was hungry and there was fresh flesh all around him. His stomach was growling and his throat parched as he looked down and Bo's corpse. Before he could stop himself, he started to feast.

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