Eber and Solaris Stood in the middle of the courtyard, both glowing-it-up while Solaris pestered Eber for information. "So, who are you again, and how do you know me?"

"If I told you I remember everything, I’d be lying. As far as I can remember, we were rivals, or…. Something less than friends. Anyways, please die now!"

Solaris raised an eyebrow. "That escalated quickly. We went from rivals to ‘please die’. I don’t see how. Did I do something horrible to you?”

"Well, honestly, I can’t say I remember. I just have this insatiable urge to destroy you now.”

“If you could hear yourself right now… seriously” Solaris muttered. “The one guy who’s not a dragon, that has clues to my past, and he wants to kill me without even so much as giving me answers. That’s just my luck”.

“Fine, I’ll give you some answers, not many though. There was this purge thing, and you got sealed, and I got sealed some time later. That’s all you get!”

Solaris groaned “Gee, thanks…”

As they spoke, a few more guards came out near the remains of the gate, intent on capturing or killing Romel, whichever came easier to them. Romel would have none of it. His rage, coupled with his newly endowed speed and strength made him more than a match for them. He was unaccustomed to his new found abilities however, and quickly dispatched the guards. They laid on the ground around him, with visible bruises, destroyed armor, and broken bones. Miraculously, he didn’t kill any of them.

They continued their chat. "So, now we went from rivals who were sealed for whatever reason to ‘fight to the death’, got it” Solaris asked.

"Well, aside from the obvious, you were stubborn as hell. You didn’t take just give up like most people around your age did. It was, kind of annoying now that I think about it. I’m gonna end this rivalry here, once and for all!"

“Last time I checked, rivals had some kind of respect for each other, and didn’t try to kill each other….” Solaris replied to Eber’s mini-rant.

“SHUT UP!” Eber shouted as he swung his sword and 3 giant ice daggers flew at Solaris, then he charged. Solaris easily evaded 2 of them, but was forced to block the 3rd with his sword. He was knocked back by the force of the impact. Eber followed up the attack, beautifully taking advantage of Solaris’s lapse in stance. He swung his sword at Solaris with a horizontal slash, which was just barely blocked. Eber settled for the next best thing, and finished his combo with a solid punch to the face, which sent Solaris flying into the east wall of the courtyard.

"Ouch!" Romel cringed as he watched Solaris get sent flying into the wall of the courtyard. When the smoke cleared, Solaris was lying in a hole, right between the 2 giant icicles which he'd dodged mere seconds ago. Romel raced towards Eber, who'd seemed to have forgotten about him. He raised his sword to strike, but Eber noticed his approach, jumping backwards to dodge at the last second.

"Oh, you’re not just here as a decoration? That’s fine too." Eber said in a condescending tone. “By the way, I don’t think you’re a Flame Keeper, at least, I don’t remember you, and your hair looks comparatively normal”

"That’s cuz I'm just a normal person… who's gonna kick your ass!" Romel rushed towards Eber again.

"Very well, I shall entertain you. It has been a while since I've had a good fight. Don't disappoint me!" He said as he narrowly dodged the tip of Romel's sword.

Solaris pulled himself from the pile of rubble just in time to see Romel's 2nd attack attempt. He stared for a moment, watching the speed at which Romel was moving. "I got hit harder than I thought, I'm seeing all kinds of weird things." He brought himself to his feet and picked up his sword. As he did so, he heard footsteps above him. There were more guards approaching from the walkway above him. He reactivated nova and jumped up the wall using the 2 giant icicles that were deeply impaled into it. He looked down again to see Romel land a light slash to Eber's arm. Eber jumped back in pain, glaring at Romel.

Solaris turned his attention to the approaching archers and took a firm hold of his weapon. "There’s too many of you for me to restrain myself. If you wanna live, turn around now” he shouted to the guards. After receiving a “you’re kidding, right?’ look from all of the guards, he shrugged. “Fine, don’t blame me if you have 1 less arm or something after this…” He rushed towards the approaching guards, deflecting arrows with his sword. Screams could be heard from above the courtyard as he cleaved through the opposing forces 1 by 1.

Eber jumped back, putting some distance between him and Romel. "I'm impressed, and your sword clearly isn't normal either. I assume it's made from some special material. Dragon claws perhaps? It really matters little to me. I just won't be able to toy with you as much as I thought. Let’s see how you do against a bit of magic."

He began chanting as Romel charged again. Romel was halted by a bitterly cold wind. Icicles formed on his blade and he began to shiver. "What the hell is this?" he muttered as he took a few steps back.

"It's something to keep annoying pests like you out of my hair. Its my ice barrier: Absolute Zero, and it gets worse." As he spoke, it began to snow around him, as if he was freezing everything he came into contact with.

"Oh, I call bullshit!" Romel yelled. "If I get close to you, I'll probably freeze to death!"

"EXACTLY! This fight is between ME and the blonde one over there in that hole in the…" He paused, seeing that Solaris was no longer in the hole, and had jumped from the walkway after having dispensed the guards.

"I heard that Mr. Blueballs." He said with surprising calmness. "Put some distance between you and him Romel, or you'll be frozen solid before you can count to 10. This is MY fight after all."

Romel tried to move, only to realize that the ground was covered with a thin layer of ice. He slid into the south wall of the courtyard and braced himself on his sword to stand. "Both of you suck…" he muttered.

Eber raised an eyebrow at the events unfolding before him. "You did NOT just call me Mr. Blueballs?!" He shouted at Solaris.

"Tell yourself whatever you want, or get the ice out of your ears and listen, I called you that. Deal with it." He planted his feet firmly on the ground and focused his energy, "I have a counter for your ice barrier. But first, I have a question. Would you happen to know anything about 'Moon Guardians' would you?"

"I know of them. No, I'm not one of them. Why?"

"You give me practically no information. Why would I waste my time answering your ‘why’ when you intend to kill me anyways?"

“Why would you ask me if you know you’re going to die?” Eber answered.

“Well, 2 reasons: 1. Cuz I’m not gonna die. 2. Cuz you’re stupid enough to answer. Now, enough pleasantries, lets get this over with." He tightened his muscles and started focusing again. "Blaze Burn!". He looked at Eber from across the courtyard. "I do remember some things, but they are totally at random." He walked casually towards Eber, with the ice beneath his feet melting on contact "Might wanna stay away from me too Romel, or you'll end up barbecued."

Romel retreated to the hallway earlier, quite pissed that he was unable to do anything. He watched the fight unfold before him.

Solaris was literally just getting warmed up, and soon the 2 barriers cancelled each other with the exception of the area immediately surrounding them.

Eber started chanting again. Moments later, spires of ice rose quickly from the ground, their killing intent evident by the razor sharp points they possessed. Solaris narrowly dodged them and jumped high into the air. Eber did the same, still casting the now somewhat familiar, yet still not understood spell, which sent more ice daggers flying in Solaris's direction. Solaris blocked the majority of them with his sword, the rest melted as they touched his skin, although some still managed to cause cuts and bruises. His fiery defense proved quite effective against Eber's ice, and the majority of his own clothes, as he'd noticed pieces of his shirt fall off in flames. The armor remained in tack however, and began to glow red hot as he landed, deforming it slightly.

"Keep that up, and you won't be able to move very well, or you’ll end up naked." Said Eber.

"I have every intention of ending this well before that happens." Solaris replied.

Romel looked over at the wall of the courtyard at the ice daggers still stuck in the wall. He made a break for them and called to Solaris: "Lets play tag, you're it!" He nodded towards the ice pillars as he ran.

Solaris nodded quickly and was upon Eber in an instant, who was still quite confused. Solaris landed a heavy roundhouse kick to Eber's back, which sent him flying towards the wall. Romel jumped into the wall, using it as a springboard and few into the air, just in time to meet Eber's face with a kick of his own. He felt a tingle in his legs from being that close to Eber for even mere seconds.

Solaris jumped as well, catching Eber in mid-air with an axe-handle chop to the stomach sending him back in Romel's direction. Romel used the 2nd ice pillar, which was higher than the first, as a springboard again and landed a blow to Eber's left arm with his sword. Eber went flying into the wall, as a trail of blood followed.

"I guess Eber's it now" Romel said as he landed. Solaris nodded and smiled.

"Nice plan, we should do that more often."

Eber pulled himself up from the rubble fuming with anger. He applied some type of freezing magic to his arm to quickly stop the bleeding. "You fools, I shall enjoy killing you both, slowly and painfully! Frost Fang!" He reformed his blade, this time it was a double edged blade, fit for fighting 2 vs 1.

Romel and Solaris stood and stared at their opponent, who seemed unaffected by the attack he’d just received.

Solaris nodded. Eber jumped up along the wall, to the walkway above the courtyard.

"Playtime ends NOOOWWWW!" Eber shouted.

He jumped into the air high above them and began to spin his sword furiously. He didn't come down either. He floated about, using levitation magic. "Diamond Twister!" A torrent of air came spinning at them, with jagged pieces of ice added as deadly projectiles.
Romel ran out of the way, back into the hallway he'd spent much of the battle in. A cold mist from the attack met him a moment later and he began to shiver, he looked towards Solaris to see what became of him.

Solaris stood near the small railing on the far side of the courtyard. He was bloody from the numerous hits from the ice. It was more than even his blaze burn could handle. Everything around him was completely frozen solid. There were even pieces of ice in his hair, though it was melting quickly. It was also the first time that Solaris felt “cold”, at least that he could remember.

They looked up at Eber, wondering how they could even reach him from that distance, meanwhile Eber started chanting, dropping ice pieces on the giant ice daggers they'd used earlier. There was no longer a way to reach him easily. Eber continued chanting and they watched powerlessly as enormous ice spears formed beside him. With a wave of his sword, the frozen projectiles were sent flying at the area surrounding Solaris, to his front and sides. He had nowhere to run to, yet no need to evade as the attacks didn’t even seem to be aimed directly at him. He raised his sword to defend as the ice made its impact with the surrounding frozen ground.

The noise was deafening. The ground shook as if there was an earthquake and the air shook with the sound of thunder. When the smoke and dust cleared, the majority of the courtyard was gone, leaving a gaping hole which lead to the jagged cliffs below. Solaris was nowhere to be seen. Romel rushed out and peered down the hole as the last of the rocks and ice hit the bottom.

"So much for goldilocks. He really was fun to fight, so much sturdier. He didn’t die in 3 hits. Now it's your turn… Romel, I believe is what you were called. Lets have fun with this, you may run as much as you'd like. I enjoy target practice."

Tears again filled Romel's eyes as he'd now seen 2 comrades fall in battle. He clinched his sword and raised it to defend, in exactly the same stance as Solaris. He waited for an attack, knowing that the fight would be short. Eber raised his sword and began chanting.

"YOU BETTER NOT BE CRYING ROMEL!" Said a voice that appeared to be Solaris. This was enough to stop Eber in his tracks.

"WHAT?!" Eber exclaimed in confusion as he looked around for the source of the voice. It came from the hole.

Romel looked down the hole to see a glowing golden aura coming up in his direction. "What the hell is this?!"

The voice replied boldly "Levitation, or in my case, inverted gravity."

As the mass of golden aura and rocks reached the top of the hole, the rocks fell away, revealing Solaris inside, floating, and rising slowly by the second. "You were right Eber." He said in a deadly serious tone. "Playtime ends NOW!"

Romel stared at the floating Solaris in disbelief, watching as he ascended and came to a stop at the same height as Eber. Eber said with a scowl "It seems we have an even fight. I was unaware you'd learned levitation."

"As I said before: it’s not levitation." Solaris replied. He locked eyes with Eber and focused his energy. The small golden aura that surrounded him expanded, now surrounding Eber and tinting the surrounding sky the color of a golden sunset. Eber did the same, pushing back the golden aura with his own frosty blue one. Romel beheld the sight as it appeared that morning and evening collided within the small space of the courtyard.

Eber raised his blade and took off without a word towards Solaris who just stood, or floated, there. Eber let loose one furious blow after another as Solaris raised his sword to block and parry. Eber left a small opening in his attacks and Solaris went on the offensive, attacking with strength equal to that of Eber. Each blow that was given was blocked, and each block sounded like cannon fire. The 2 warriors continued exchanging blows faster than most could even recognize. Romel had difficulty keeping track of the battle.

Romel was distracted for a moment from the combat by the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned around to see about 2 dozen soldiers behind him. He reflexively stepped back, stopping at the edge of the hole. A rock slipped from beneath his feet and bounced down to the bottom of the cliff below. He had nowhere to run as he raised his blade, taking a defensive stance. The guards did not attack. They stood in utter amazement as the sight of the hole, the twilit courtyard, and at the battle raging above them.

A guard ran up to one of the soldiers at the head of the group. "Captain, evacuation of most of the castle occupants is complete. Awaiting your orders sir!" He stood and looked at Romel, still standing at the edge of the hole, then looked back at the captain. "Sir?"

"I assume you are one of the people responsible for...this". The captain surveyed the scene as he spoke to Romel, shouting over the thunderous hits being delivered from above. "We were going to get out of here, but this way is not passable with that nonsense of there, and if we have to fight you…. We do not wish to fight, just to see that tyrant Eber defeated so life may return to normal."

Romel approached them slowly, still keeping his weapon raised slightly. "I'd like to help, but they are up there, and I can’t fly, or float, or do whatever the hell it is they are doing."

"Understood: if you let us pass, I shall offer you our assistance" Replied the captain. He turned and pointed toward a guard, wearing a mage's armor. "Cast a levitation spell on him, a strong one."

The guard nodded and stepped forward, chanting a spell as he was surrounded by a magic circle. Romel felt a rush of air and the next thing he knew he was floating a few meters above the ground. He was slightly surprised and looked quite awkward floating in the air.
"You seem a bit new to flying!" the captain shouted from below. "Just think about where you want to go, and you'll go that way. Oh, and don't worry about trying to look cool, you'll get yourself killed that way! The spell should last about 20 minutes, so hurry up and deal with Eber. Good luck."

Romel looked up at the battle, remembering the fields that surrounded the fighters. "Can u do something about the frost and flame barriers? If I get too close to either, I'm done for" he said, mildly embarrassed.

The captain nodded at the mage. "Grant his request." The mage did so obediently and cast 2 spells, which surrounded Romel with 4 light spheres, 2 matching the color of Solaris's aura, and 2 for Eber's. The mage spoke up "those will last about as long as the levitation spell, now be off. None of us have long here."

Romel nodded and took off, floating towards the fighting above. He looked back and watched the guards file out around the hole in the small space next to the wall. He could see the extent of the damage caused by the ice attacks, as well as the multitude of dead guards. It was frightening to think that they were partially responsible for the destruction, and amazing that they'd survived it.

Romel locked his eyes on the battle above him. He'd wanted to launch a surprise attack on Eber, but that would also require avoiding Solaris's attacks. He ascended to their height, unnoticed by the fighters who were quite occupied with trying to destroy one another. He thought about quickly flying into Eber and landing a solid attack to his side. No sooner than he thought this, he found himself racing towards Eber. This flight thing would take some getting used to.

He raised his sword and turned to the side in anticipation for Solaris's misdirected attacks, and set up for an epic dropkick. He landed the kick on the unsuspecting Eber with amazing effectiveness, sending him flying into the distance. Romel was sent backwards by a couple of Solaris's attacks just before it was fully realized that his target was no longer in front of him.  Romel recovered himself and shook off the hits. "Damn, remind me never to piss you off….again."

“Well, that worked. So, about the flying…. How?” Solaris questioned.

Romel replied “We can discuss all that later”.

They turned their attention to Eber, who'd recovered just at the edge of their range of view. He was holding his side and gasping. He dropped to the ground moments later, and took off again, heading towards them with the double bladed frost fang which he'd dropped after the last blow.

In his rage he went straight for Romel, sending more ice daggers in his general direction, half of which melted by the time they hit Solaris's blazing aura field. Solaris blocked the few shards that went astray in his direction. Romel took most of them, and was only able to block about half of what was left with his sword. The impacts left cuts and bruises, not that one could tell due to the accumulation of damage he’d taken from the previous combat.

Eber charged and swung, breaking Romel's guard and knocking him back. He handed a kick to Romel's stomach, sending him flying downward into the walkway above the courtyard. Eber continued his assault, flying towards Romel with his sword pointed at him. Solaris caught his foot and spun, sending all the force into the south wall of the courtyard. The impact of Eber’s collision utterly destroyed what was left of south entranceway of the courtyard, leaving only an enormous pile of ice and debris. Solaris charged into the pile of rubble that Eber landed in, and attempted a strong kick, trying to knock him further back into the building. Eber blocked it with his sword, but was sent flying into the building, which collapsed around them both.

There was silence for a brief moment as each of the fighters dug themselves out of their respective craters. Romel inspected himself for more damage. He armor was essentially destroyed, yet he had no more damage other than the damage from the last ice attack, and a few more cuts and bruises. The old man had granted him amazing power, both offensive and defensive. However, it was still hardly enough to even keep up with the likes of those 2. He watched as Solaris unearthed himself from the ruins of that section of castle. He looked around for Eber. There was no sign of him. Suddenly, the ground near Solaris began to shake. The rubble erupted with ice, sending debris everywhere. Eber stood inside a pyramid of ice, leaning on his sword.

He took to the air again. "I' did not expect this much of a challenge from either of you. Impressive indeed." He said, gasping for breath as the ice pyramid shattered.

They looked up at Eber and with an annoyed expression Romel commented "What's it gonna take to beat this guy?"

Solaris replied: "Think of me, just using ice. However we aren't entirely similar in that regard I'm sure."

"You are right Solaris. I tried to eliminate as many of those differences as I could, though I wasn’t entirely successful" Eber shouted from above.

Romel and Solaris looked at each other and nodded, thinking the same thing: end the fight, quickly. They both took off, Solaris began rising rapidly from directly below Eber. Romel flew towards him from the front. They surrounded and attacked together, forcing Eber to use the sword mostly for defense. He inevitably couldn't block everything and the 2 took turns landing strikes. A cut to the arm, a punch to the face, a cut to the back, and countless other injuries started to stack on the already wounded Eber.

Eber surrounded himself in an icy mist and moved out of striking range while out of sight. He reappeared above them, floating in a ball in mid-air. They raced towards him again, being met by more frozen missiles, this time fired off in all directions, which forced them to stop and defend.

"Screw you and this town! I’m out!" shouted Eber, as he encased himself in a huge block of ice.

They recovered and charged again, hacking away at the ice fortress as it began to fall. They were unable to break it and stopped their attacks. Just before impact they heard the words "He who fights and runs away…."

They ascended again as the object hit the ground, leaving a cloud of dust and frost. There was nothing left when the dust cleared, except a crater in a pile of rubble. They surveyed the area below and surrounding the castle. A few of the guards who escaped earlier could be seen, as well as groups of villagers who came to see what was going on.

Solaris and Romel raised their hands in victory. They villagers and guards kneeled where they were, acknowledging the power which had defeated the tyrant Eber. Romel finished Eber's sentence: "’he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day’. I suspect that wasn't the last we'll see of ole Eber."

"So, about the flying, and you not dying when you got close to us? And the random super human feats of strength and such" Solaris said has his aura field shrank to hardly surround himself.

"You mean fighting on your level? It was a gift from 2 mages, I'll explain later, I'm feeling a bit heavy" Romel replied. Just as he said this the levitation spell wore off and he began to fall, once again a prisoner of gravity. Solaris descended rapidly and caught his hand about halfway through his trip to the ground.

The rest of the trip down was slower, at a very much safe speed. They returned to the ground and the elemental defense spells wore off as well, just as Solaris deactivated nova. They both collapsed, completely unconscious. They survived, Eber was removed from power, and the future of Azidon looked much brighter without the tyrant at its helm.

Solaris woke up in the castle infirmary. Neil and Valencia were looking at him. He asked wearily "Neil, was Frost OK??" Before receiving an answer, he passed back out. They would remain that way for quite a few days.