The end of Ragnorak

"Father, can you tell us the story of how you stopped Ragnorak Alliance?"

Kaldrick looked at his children. Sweet Luna had her mother's beautiful nutbrown skin and soft smile. Next to her was Abo, who already looked like a carbon copy of Kaldrick when he was younger. A steady heat pulsed from the fireplace.

"That story is not the happiest. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes, papa, please!" They both cheered.

"Alright, it all started like this."

Part 1 The storm begins.

Appalachian Mountains 3010

"Brothers and sister of the tenth legion, today we stand on the precipice of victory!" Kaldrick called out.

The crowd roared their approval back at him.

"In the year 3,000, our world was struck with a divine cataclysm. Without our knowing in the kingdom of heaven, a war had been raging. On one side, the Ragnorak Alliance determined to crush us and remake the world in their image."

The crowd jeered and shouted nasty taunts.

"On the other side was the GOG, the Gods of Guidance. They wanted to reunite with humanity and lead us into a new prosperous age. Their war so fierce it cracked heaven in half, and the war was unleashed onto the earth. I know all of us here remember the day the sky broke. How the sky stormed and every volcano on earth erupted. We all saw how entire parts of the continents fell into the oceans.

Kaldrick paused, allowing a moment of silence. Everyone here had lost a loved one at the start of the war. He took a steadying breath and continued.

"Yet through it all, we prevailed! It was not only the gods that came back but magic! Many of us were reborn as godlings! With our newfound powers, we joined with the GOG, and we fought for our survival!"

The crowd cheered again. In the sky, people shot ice, fire, and other energy projectiles into the sky. Some flew up and did a backflip.

"We were not the only ones to rise and fight for earth. From all corners of the world came our cousins—the therianthropes, elves, fairies, giants, and ogres. In the sky, we were joined by the dragon clans! Together we form the legions that will win this war!"

The crowd stopped their feet. The non-humans added their roaring, and the dragons in the sky showed off aerial tricks shooting fire above the legion's head.

"I know you are tired, but I need you all to band together one last time. When we win here, it will be the start of a new age. An age where the oceans are clean! The air is so clean we don't need a mask! A world where we eat real food and not nutrition pills!"

"Through our hard work, this reality is only hours away." a deep resonate voice said from above.

Looking up, the crowd went wild as they saw the figure. He was so beautiful it made people's eyes water. He had four white wings and wore nothing but white shorts. His eyes were a warm pink.

"I Lord Cupid swear to you that we of the GOG will do everything to make sure humanity prospers from the moment Ragorak is defeated till the end of time itself!"

The legion swooned at his words. Kaldrick could physically feel the love in the air for Cupid. It was not the only leader of the GOG that had appeared. Two others had come. Oya warrior and Goddess of the wind, she rode her column of wind, her burgundy robes spiraling around her. Ogun, a god of fire and metal, had also descended. He stepped on a red hot piece of metal. His red robes seem to dance like they were living fire. They stood with Cupid.

"Cupid speaks the truth. Tomorrow when you march into battle, it will not be alone. We the gods march beside you!" Oya shouted to them.

Kaldrick observed his legion. Looking over, he saw Oya nod at him, indicating he could speak again. Nothing compares to real gods talking.

"Victory is ours to take. Be with your companies tonight and rest up. We have a war to finish tomorrow. Through love, we prevail!"

"Through love, we prevail!" they sounded back.

The legions dispersed, going to their prospective camps. Kaldrick heard their giddy conversations. He could also hear the thirst for battle that soldiers had. They spoke of vengeance and the brutal death they would deliver to their enemies. Kaldrick smiled as he had done what he needed to do.

"Wow, dad, that speech was great. Too bad Cupid came to steal your thunder like that!" Luna commented.

"SHhhhhhh, Luna, I want to hear the rest of the story!" Abo said. "Keep going, please, Dad."

"Luna, you have to remember at that time Lord Cupid was a leader of the GOG. He was my boss. If anything, I was an opening act for his grand entrance. Anyway, let me get back to the story."

Kaldrick himself retreated to his tent to meet with the leaders. Oya, Ogun, and Cupid were standing off to the side. They were all over ten feet tall, so they did not need to be that close to the holo-table in the center of the roam—Basilius, the living Viking, a godling that could turn his skin to different metals. Krishna, small and fierce, is known as the morning star. Orion the golden boy who could control the air. Finally, there was Liling, her icy gaze known to freeze a dragon from the sky.

"That was a great speech; how much of it do you believe," Liling asked.

"I believe every bit of it. We crushed the RA so bad in New York they have retreated here to their stronghold. We got the numbers, and our Godlings are better trained. With the GOG here, that means even if we encounter one of the more powerful gods, we can handle them. I see no reason why we should not win." Kaldrick replied.

"That is all true, but we still do not know who the leader of the RA is. For all, we know we could be walking right into a battle with Cronus or some other primordial."

"That is not possible, Liling. The titans formed the neutral faction who stayed out of the war." Oya commented.

"Apologies, Lady Oya, I just don't like walking into a fight we know so little information about. How do we know it's one of the other gods and not a surprise titan."

"Trust me, child, if someone like my great-grandfather was around, we would all know. From what I remember, the RA follows a principle similar to ours. The war gods lead on the battlefield; the others stay in the shadows organizing. If anything, killing the leader should be the easy part. Remember, Jupiter?."

"Barely, what I do remember is barely making it out of that confrontation." Krishna retorted.

"That does not matter. You did it then, and you will do it now." Cupid assured them.

"Listen to lover boy guys! We are the Generals of the tenth legion. Over the past ten years, we turned this war from a hopeless cause to a winnable one. Now is not the time to doubt ourselves!" Basilius roared.

Cupid's face scrunched up from being called lover boy. He quickly covered it back up with his glittering smile.

"Exactly, listen to your overgrown furball friend. Victory will be swift and easy." Cupid assured them.

"Well, there is no point in us continuing this talk. I believe the generals need to retire and rest; tomorrow will be a long day." Oya said.

"May our bonds between us keep us strong," Kaldrick said.

"May our bonds between us keep us strong." They all responded.

Part 2 The Storm Arrives

The following day Kaldrick looked out across the legion. The only impressive thing was its size. The infantry wore a mix of different uniforms from around the world. The only ones with actual uniforms were the godlings. They were dressed in blue and gold robes. He could see that they, too, were not in the best condition. The mechs and tanks had dents and rust on the edges. In the sky, the airforce hovered in place. Dragons and other flying monstrosities circled the airforce waiting for action. Above them all, a purple wormhole opened up, and the gods descended.

From every culture, they came. There were humans, animal-human hybrids, some of who were just pure energy. Kaldrick found he had to look away from the display. The leaders of the GOG Oya and Ogun hovered down to stand behind them.

Kaldrick raised his hands, and the entire legion went quiet. He took one deep breath and began to speak.

"There is nothing more to say you know what this day means. Fight like you never have before because if you don't, all we have lost along the way will be lost. For humanity, for survival, charge!" Kaldrick commanded his army.

People always talk about that moment right before two armies meet. The airy silence and calm that settles on everyone. It's like everyone knows it's simply too late to have regrets, and they might as well accept what will happen. Few people talk about what happens the moment two armies meet each other. It is like the beginning of a bloody symphony. First comes the crack of the opening fire of the enemy—the melodic drumming of the bullets. The next movement is the screeching of metal. The mechs were pounding drum-like feet acrosses the hard cracked earth. The symphony continues when you hear the screams. The screams come in different tones. Some are angry, some are desperate, and others are pitiful as soldiers take their last breath.

Kaldrick took it all in and then added the final instrument to the bloody symphony. The crack of magic. Kaldrick called to the earth, and it responded. He ripped up large chunks of land, hurling the residue at the enemy. Every twitch of his finger saw soldiers swallowed by the earth by the earth. He snapped his fingers, and earthen spikes punctured his enemies, leaving them impaled on the battlefield.

Godling's of the air thought they were safe from the wrath of earth. They tried to stay out of range. Kaldrick touched the ground and the stones transfigured into bullets. The sky rained blood from the assault.

The battle showed no technique or strategy; it was nothing but a bloody free-for-all.

"Basilius, Krishna, Liling, Orion! Form your companies on me. We are pushing for the castle. That is where their leaders are; we kill them, we end this.

Krishna shot a blue fireball into the sky. The members of the tenth legion not caught in the fighting formed upon their generals. They created a spear and then charged. Basilius included the head of the spear. Krishna burned, and Liling flash-frozen any who tried to attack from above. Orion's winds scattered the enemies to the farthest corners of the battlefield.

The legion became one machine built on killing. No man, godling, or mech could stop them. Time blurred into blood, oil, and screams. The harmonious movement showed no distinction anymore, just a constant din of war. Step by step, the fortress got closer. When Kaldrick could see the details on the door, thunder called out to him.

"Human pestilence, your species ends today!"

Kaldrick looked above him and saw an old enemy, Thor. His red hair ripped around him as he created his storms. In his right hand, he held a glittering silver hammer. Thor seemed to become one with the lighting as he struck the earth. The lightning around Thor was alive. It hunted every one of his enemies, turning them to ash. They did not even get to scream.

"Your time is over Thor, we have killed gods before, and we will do it again!" Kaldrick yelled at him.

"You may have powers, but you are still nothing but a human!" he shouted back at them.

Thor charged directly at Kaldrick. Kaldrick felt no fear. He touched the ground and, in an instant, forming a double-handed sword. He rushed Thor. As their two weapons met, a bell-like sound rang across the battlefield. Kaldrick was not the only one Basilius ran into him, tackling him from the sky. Ice, fire, and light rained from the sky, shooting into Thor's system. He was unphased; electrical shields popped up, blocking attacks. A tendril of lightning blew Basilius back.

No matter what they tried, Thor blocked everything they did. The collateral damage they caused meant that soldiers on both sides were perishing. Kaldrick watched in despair as a simple lightning bolt vaporized five mechs that had been pushing in for support.

We will get nowhere like this.

Kaldrick looked above him and shouted into the sky.

"We could use a little help here!"

The sky spoke back to him.

"Help you shall have my child."

As Thor came in to finish them, red lightning struck Thor stunning him from the sky. Appearing in the red lighting, Shango appeared. He shook the blood and oil off of himself. He pointed his axes at Thor and called a challenge.

"Thor, let's see who truly is the god of lightning!"

"Shango, your love for these mortals has blinded you. You fight for a dying and ignorant race."

"I fight for our children whose only flaw is acting like their parents before them."

Thor did not respond. He simply attacked. Kaldrick could barely follow the fight. They were nothing but blue and red strikes bouncing off of each other. Every time they meet, shock waves reverberated in the air. Kaldrick turned his attention to his legion. They all looked ragged. Hours of intense combat were wearing on all of them.

"We must persist. We are too close to our objective to fall now."

"Kaldrick, even if we can reach the castle, what does it matter. We barely kept from dying to Thor. Do you think we can fight their leaders?" Krishna inquired.

"Remember what Lord Cupid said. The war gods are outside. Once we are inside, we fight the strategist but not the top fighters. Kaldrick assured them.

The group looked at him with grim determination. They trudged through the back lines of the army. Kaldrick could tell that the Ragnorak fighters were losing steam. Every step closer to the fighting got a little bit easier. Before Kaldrick could process it, he had a hand on the door. He looked behind him and saw that only two of the five companies had started the battle with him. There were three mechs left. Even with the reduction in numbers, his soldiers still stood ready to fight. In the air, the GOG held the line against enemy gods, trying to stop them.

"Stand back and be ready," Kaldrick commanded.

Part 3 - The Storm Ends.

Kaldrick allowed the pressure to build within himself. He felt every atom within the door. His magic rushed to him, strengthing his thoughts and body. He released the pressure, and the doors flew from the hinges. Nothing came. All that was in front of them was a dark corridor.

"Let's move. Stay sharp. This could be a trap," Kaldrick said.

With the four generals in the lead, the last survivors of the tenth legion marched through the corridors. On the walls, the pictures moved. They all showed some of the worst moments in human history. Genocide, slavery, child soldiers, and climate destruction were some of the highlights. Kaldrick heard a soft ruffle as they kept moving.

"I think we are being -"

Basilius never got to finish the sentence. A bullet hole had grown from the center of his eyes.

"Get to cover!" Kaldrick screamed. The hallway rang with the sound of baby laughter and the rattle of gunfire.

Krishna created what looked like miniature stars and threw them up into the ceilings. The light illuminated a horde of cherubim. They all carried repeating laser rifles, and they kept laughing. When they got hurt, they would cry. They would never stop shooting, though. Some dived down, trying to stab them with long knives.

"Babies attacked you guys," Abo said in disbelief.

“Not babies Abo cherubim. They are creatures who take the form of human children to disarm their foes. Before the war, they helped to spread love among the masses. The war twisted them.

"That's sad, Papa," Luna commented.

"It is, sometimes even in conflict, you can't help but feel bad for your enemy."

"So, what happened next?" Abo inquired.

"Well, then I-"

Kaldrick reached above them with his senses. The ceiling was full of stalactites. He yanked them down. The crying of the baby children increased from the deadly rain. As the rain stopped, the hallway went silent.

"Orion status report."

"We are done with the last company. Bloody babies killed a lot that was in the front." Orion replied.

"Krishna set up a star net. I want this chamber to look as illuminated as possible. No more surprises." Kaldrick commanded.

Krishna nodded and then concentrated. The room exploded with light as small stars dazzled into existence. The scene around Kaldrick was a mess. All he saw was babies impaled and bleeding out. Next to them, he saw many of the black legions full of holes from laser fire. Luckily Basilius had been covered when he collapsed the ceiling.

I'm glad I don't have to look at the face of another dead friend.

"Form up; we keep pushing," Kaldrick ordered.

The corridor leads to a large chamber. The chamber was opulent. The walls were covered in silk and gold. Jems dripped down the wall. Sitting on the throne was a woman. A deep condescending female voice called out to them. She was dressed in barely anything. Her skin was the color of milk, and her hair the color of honey. Around her neck was a heart locket.

"Let me guess; you broke through the army to storm in here so you could confront me. You believe that you will kill me, and then the gods of the GOG will lead the human race to heaven on earth."

"I doubt it will be that straightforward, but we will at least be able to stop this war. What happens next is still a mystery."

"I hate to disappoint you, but -"

The women did not finish as Orion shot a bolt of condensed plasma right at the spot on the throne where the women's head should be. The plasma shot was blocked when an arrow caught it mid-air. There was a rustle of wings as a new god appeared.

"Cupid." Krishna breathed.

"Traitor!" Orion yelled at him.

"I knew there was something fishy about him!" Abo yelled.

"Shhhh, Abo Papa is getting to the good part," Luna yelled at him.

"Oh, I don't know; maybe I should share the rest of the story later." Kaldrick teased.

"No!" they shouted in unison.

"Well, then, no more interruptions."

"Yes, papa," both children said

Good as I was saying."

"I don't look at it that way really when I was never playing for your team," Cupid responded in a bored voice.

"So this was all a trap then to lead us here?" Krishna accused.

"Good job, human, you are catching on. My mother has been very patient in her plans to push Ragnarok forward. Now we will win here and."

"You cannot win. We crushed the army outside. Also, you two may be gods, but you cannot face all of us here." Liling reminded him.

"Hmm, true, a calculated risk. Of course, once all of your heads are mounted on spikes and marched outside. Your army leadership will crumble, and then we can clean them up. But I am done talking time to kill."

The bow in Cupid's hand transformed into a heavy repeating ray gun. Small holes in the wall opened up, and a torrent of cherubim flooded into the room. Kaldrick responded by throwing up a shield of earth. He could feel the heat as the bolts started to melt through the rock.

"Krishna, Liling take the company and work on Cupid and his babies. I know who our enemy is; Orion and I will take down the leader. I am dropping this barrier on the count of three."

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

The shield came down, and Krishna shot into the air. Liling followed her. The air was mixed with the sound of anguish babies and repeating gunfire.

Kaldrick stood and pointed his sword at the throne. He called out to the women watching the bloody melee.

"If your son is Cupid, then I know who you are. You are Venus. Goddess of love and desire. You are cocky for one not meant to be on a battlefield."

At first, Venus said nothing. The only sound was the constant ringing of the cherubim's laughter. Then a new laugh joined their laughter. It was deep and haughty. Venus stood from her throne.

"You know my name but not my history godling. Yes, I am a goddess of love and desire, but that is only one of my aspects. Before, I was the Goddess of love and desire. I was a goddess of war and justice. The Greeks knew me as Aphrodite Areia, which translates to Aphrodite the warlike."

Every word she spoke, she transformed. Armor like a Roman centurion materialized. Her face became shrouded in a helm with an eagle on top of it. In her left hand, a large circular shield formed. In her left hand, there was a gladius. The short had a ray gone attached to it.

"You humans only see what you want to see. I am the daughter of Zeus and the wife of Mars. The entire campaign of the GOG was built on the premise that humanity could only be rebuilt if everyone could love and care for each other. I bet you are proud of all the bonds you forged with your comrades. You played into my hands. I feed on love. It powers me, and with the power you built, I will reconquer all the territories. This battle is not the end of the war; it is the beginning."

Venus launched herself across the room. She was a red blur. Kaldrick retaliated. He floated on a piece of stone. Using that stone, he met Venus head-on. Their weapons clashed in a fury exchange of blood. Orion was not letting Kaldrick fight alone; he shot a rain of condensed air. Venus threw her shield up, blocking out the strikes. She retaliated by using telekinesis to throw the throne itself at Orion. He could barely dodge to the side as it sailed past. The battle settled into a rhythm. Kaldrick stayed close. Orion attacks from a distance. Venus gave credence to her title as a war god. She countered with her shield and sword. She made sure he stayed close to Kaldrick so that Orion could not keep a constant barrage going in fear of hitting Kaldrick. She used her sword and shield to both in tandem for defensive and offense. Kaldrick disengaged and jumped back to Orion.

He looked over to the battle happening with Cupid. Krishna and Liling were slowly taking advantage. Cupid had always been a powerful fighter, but he was getting outgunned by their assault of ice and Starfire. The cherubim were helping keep the fighting even, but without the element of surprise, they were weak and could not land a fatal blow on the pair. The soldiers below were also doing an excellent job of making sure Krishna and Liling could not get overwhelmed.

Orion and Kaldrick switched tactics. They both kept their distance and tried to fire down on Venus from afar.

"What do you think of the situation?" Kaldrick said.

"I think we are missing something here. Venus may be a war god, but she is not a Mars or a Shango. She has more surprises."

As if on cue, the heart locket on Venus's neck started to glow. The room began to feel warm, and he felt his emotions build. The love and desire he felt increased. Krishna and Liling had to land next to him. He was overcome with how much he loved his friends. Kaldrick felt like he just wanted to hug and kiss them. Kaldrick tried to snap out of it.

"What is this?" Kaldrick cried out

"It is simply love, child. Overwhelming, all-consuming love.The type of love that makes it so you can't think straight. The type of love that kills."

"Glory to Venus!"

In his confusion, he had not noticed that a section of the wall had fallen away. Running from the corridor came to an army. They were all men and women, but their eyes were glassy. Their pupils had burning red hearts in them. They opened fire on the helpless group. Men and women fell mowed down by the opening gunfire.

Kaldrick did not have time to shield anyone. A searing pain burned in his side where a bullet penetrated him. He felt a bullet graze his cheek, opening up a cut. A giant white wall appeared where Liling had thrown up a shield.

"New mission objective. Get the locket to kill Venus after!"

"Got it!"

Kaldrick fought the fog Venus had created in his mind and threw a boulder right at her. An arrow struck the boulder causing it to explode, killing more of Kaldricks troops. Deep inside, something in Kaldrick snapped. He did not know if it was all the blood or the constant death of his allies.

Kaldrick hunted down Cupid in the sky. Cupid tried to get away, but they were in the bowels of the earth; this was Kaldrick's domain. Kaldrick pushed him up higher into the ceiling. He used his senses to pull rock from the ground, shaping them into bullets. Krishana, Liling, and Orion provided support. They worked to corral Cupid into a corner. Once he was in the corner, Kaldrick finished it. He reached his hand out and clenched it. Behind Cupid, a rock hand reached out and snatched him. Cupid started to scream as the rock hand began to close in on him. He reached out and got to utter one word.

"Mommy."

Cupid dropped to the floor in a splatter of golden blood and crushed bone. Venus's shrill cry rang out as she saw her son drop to the floor.

"No!"

The rage that had stopped Kaldrick from feeling the effects of the heart locket started to falter as Venus' emotions increased their power. She redoubled her attack. The group did not recover. Venus's shield smashed into Krishna, throwing her to the ground. Her sword slashed, cutting Liling's right arm off. She screamed and fell back to earth. She followed this up by headbutting Kaldrick so hard; he saw a burst of stars appear in his head before he fell back to earth. She followed the head butt throw by raising her gun and pumping three laser bolts straight into Orion's body.

Kaldrick moaned, trying to get up. Blood rushed into his eyes, his head pounded. He could only see the shadow of Venus as she descended. He threw his arm back, throwing stone blades back, trying to stop her advance.

Venus danced mid-air out of the way. She landed using her shield to finish off Liling separating her head from her shoulders.

"See godling; this was all predestined. The Ragnarok alliance was never as weak as we looked. We will crush you here. When your first human centurion falls, so will all resistance. Ragnorak will continue as planned. "

"Why," Kaldrick said.

"Why you dare ask me why! Love was dead godling. Love for people, love for the earth. Every form of love on earth was dead. Why would I not want to see its destruction." Venus spat at him.

"Why lead it to destruction when you could work to bring it back?"

"I did. For centuries I gave you humans every possible way to feel love again. You rejected it for material gain. The only option was Ragnorak."

A singular tear ran down Venus's face after her proclamation.

"I am sorry you have lost hope, Venus, but just because you have does not mean that."

He dragged himself up on his feet and stared up at Venus. Her face showed her arrogance. As far as she was concerned, she had won. Kaldrick tried to fire earth at her in a vain attempt to resist her. It did not help. He knocked it all away like a cow swats a fly. She swung her shield, slapping Kaldrick against a wall. Venus toyed with him, throwing him around and kicking him until he was a broken pulp on the ground.

Orion and Krishna tried to retaliate, but they too were beaten and broken. Kaldrick watched as Orion was bisected from head to stomach. In despair, he watched as Krishna's head was busted with a shield spraying grey brain across Kaldrick face. He could do nothing.

I guess it is my turn now. At least I can say I went out fighting.

Venus walked towards him, sword raised. He refused to close his eyes. Kaldrick would watch and enjoy his death. He laughed to himself as she crept closer.

I guess it is time to finally time to catch up with his sleep.

The point of Venus sword raised, ready to end him.

He.

Took.

One last breath.

And….

Nothing happened. White glittering light streamed into his sight, and he could not see. When his eyesight returned, he was shocked to see. Basilius was alive. Not only was he alive, but he was also beating Venus directly in the face with the butt of a laser rifle. Kaldrick crawled up to rest on his elbows and watched as he brutally beat the Goddess. Venus recovered from her initial shock and screamed so loud it blew Basilius off of him. He landed right next to Kaldrick.

"How the hell are you still alive?"

"You think one of those babies would kill me. I was a little stunned. The real danger is you dropping the ceiling on me."

"My bad, I thought you were dead."

"Enough about me. What's the situation?"

"Heart locket makes the people around her thralls to her love. We break it, and we should be able to turn this around."

"You got a plan?"

"Ya keep her grounded. We will try the thing we did in Russia against Ymir."

Basilius jumped, crashing down on Venus from above. She responded by lifting her shield. Venus followed with an upstroke from her sword, trying to impale him while he was vulnerable in the air. He jumped away. Whenever she tried to fly or achieve altitude, he jumped, shutting her down. They wrestled back and forth. He was so close to Venus she could not block with her shield.

Kaldrick watched them, but his senses were somewhere else. He drove them deep into the ground. He wormed his way through until he felt what he called the pulse of the earth. It was the beating magma-filled core of the planet, and he was tapping it. He sweated and breathed heavily as he called the magma, clawing it to the surface.

"Basilius, move!"

Basilius jumped away, but Venus grabbed him, slamming him back towards him. Every time he jumped away, Venus would snatch him. Kaldrick looked desperately for an opening, but he could not find one. Venus and Basilius were simply too close to each other.

"Kaldrick, finish this! I cannot hold her much longer!"

"What about you!"

"The plight of one does not outway the millions."

Kaldrick took a breath and released. Magma bloomed from the ground. She screamed as the magma burned through her armor and onto her skin. Kaldrick drove the magma further until he could see golden blood boiling from the heat.

"No! I can-," Venus screamed.

Her scream was caught off when Kaldrick transfigured the lava. It hardened into obsidian spikes. Venus stood impaled from multiple points. On the tallest spike that sprouted from her chest, the heart locket had cracked. It dangled dead, all luster gone.

Kaldrick dragged himself to the obsidian corpse of Venus and saw his friend still holding on to her. Basilius still had his eyes closed as if he had died. The obsidian spikes meant for him had all dodged to the side and pierced Venus.

"Your alive, Basilius," Kaldrick informed him.

"Well, I'll be damned. I am alive."

"You thought I was going to kill you?"

"Ya, I thought that was one of those sacrifice your friends to win the day moments."

"It almost was. I only barely was able to since the spikes moving towards you."

"Well, I am delighted you did."

All around Kaldrick, a crowd had gathered. The slaves of Venus had stopped fighting the moment that she had died. His legion had gathered around the goddesses body. Kaldrick turned around to face them. Baslius supported him, making sure he did not fall.

"Soldiers of the tenth legion. May you be the first to know. The War is over!"

"And that is how Ragnorak came to an end," Kaldrick stated.

"Wow, Dad, you are a hero!" Luna exclaimed.

"You showed Venus and Cupid, who's boss," Abo added.

"Thank you, children. But now it is time to go to bed." Kaldrick informed them.

He tucked them and gave them each a kiss on the forehead. Before he left, Abo called out to him.

"Dad, can I ask you one more question?"

"This is your last one Abo."

"Why did you look so sad during that story? You are a hero. The world would have perished without you."

"Heroes don't always see themselves as hero's son."

Before Abo could respond, Kaldrick turned off the last light and walked away.