text: "I pity you." The Hero said through the blood and ash. A half-delirious chuckle slipped from their lips, soft and melodious and just the tiniest bit unhinged. "Truly, I do." The Monster snarled in return, golden eyes alight with furious hatred. Its jagged maw released a guttural growl, sharp and deep and wrong in all the ways that matter. Like the world cried with every breath it took - became lesser with every second of its existence. **"Pity me?"** It sneered in contempt, obsidian fangs glinting wickedly like daggers made from deepest recesses of the blackest oceans - a void that devoured whatever it touched, light and all. **"You are broken, Hero! Forsaken and alone. Here you stand, without allies and without hope for victory. Fighting for people you do not know - for a cause born of naivete and self-deceit. Yet you dare pity me? You? Who raised their blade against fate? Who lies bloodied and beaten like swine?** A bark of laughter rose from the Monster's throat - a misshapen mold of a growl and a bellow that distorted the skies. It pounded its tail and fractured the mountains with its every corroding step. It spread its titanic wings and blackened the sky with its every deafening roar. It bared its cruel and blood-soaked maw in a vindictive grin and poisoned the air with its every rancid breath. **"Fool! I am the abyss! The oblivion! The endless night! I am inevitability. And you? You are a mere grain of sand hoping to dry the seas. A speck of cosmic dust seeking to devour a star. You are nothing."** Hoarfrost spread with its every word, biting and chilling ice that sapped the life of everything that it touched. The shadows seemed to beckon from its feet, stifling and tempting, and ah, would it not be so much better to simply lay down and rest? Would it not be easier to find peace with it all? Just let go. Let it all go and there would be no further suffering. But the Hero does not fall. The Hero does not submit. The shadows writhe and curl and lunge but their taint breaks under the Hero's steadfast form like waves parting before the cliff's edge. And as the darkness recoils, the Hero speaks again, "And that is why I pity you." The Hero stands - armored hands dragging like lead weights and strained muscles screaming in agony with every effort, yet they stand, regardless - and then smiled beautifully at the Monster. "You, the abyss, who knows of destruction and nothing of creation. You, the oblivion, who knows only solitude and nothing of existence. You, the endless night, who knows only of cold and nothing of warmth." The Hero leveled their sword at the beast's chest and granted it the sight of their derisive smirk. "You, the inevitability, who knows only of resignation and nothing of rebellion against the chains that bind you. I pity you. Born without choice. A slave to your own nature." The Monster snarled, caustic spit dripping from its pitch-black jaws. **"You are insane."** The Hero tilted their head and shrugged. "Heroes often are. We are a confusing bunch, no? Though at this very moment, I can assure you. I am the sanest I have ever been in all my life. There is nowhere in this realm that I would rather be than right at this very spot. The Hero spread their arm with a grand flourish and released a melodic laugh - warm and carelessly wondrous as a summer breeze. "Standing here, I have never before felt so alive." Two hands rose, gripped the pommel of a glowing blade. Light hummed steadily from its hallowed edge, glowing then dimming then glowing again like a heart of forged steel that had come to life. "So, I should thank you, beast. For this...this feeling is the finest gift anyone could have ever granted upon mine self. And I can only think of one suitable way to repay mine debt to thee." The Hero closed their eyes and began to pray. Not to any god. Not to any demon. This was not a prayer that would touch their unworthy ears. These words were only meant for those with the potential to be so much greater. "Hear my voice and acknowledge my call, my brothers and sisters! Let all of creation bear witness to our kin of flame!" The winds began to thunder furiously, carrying a valorous war cry to the corners of all of creation. It swirled and converged as if the very air was dancing to the Hero's orchestration. The light that had once been so dim became a beacon, piercing the veil of shadows that had fallen upon the land with its resplendence. Rays of luminescence crashed against the tide and began to push back. The Monster roared in outrage. Titanic claws called down curses that poisoned the Earth. Its voracious jaws raged and spewed spells that sundered the soul. Its wings swept forward a darkness that eclipsed the very stars. Yet the Hero stood against the tide - proud and stalwart in the eye of the growing storm - unbowed, unfaltering, and unforgiving. "Oh, divines above! Look down and tremble before your usurpers! Oh, mortals below! Awaken and rage against the Fates that imprison you!" The Hero's blade rose higher in a solemn salute, and Death wavered in fear. "Follow me unto the great beyond and bear witness to a miracle. Now and forevermore, let this moment be our song! A Gloria that will echo throughout all of time!" The blade was swung. And the world was bathed in radiant light.