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James' mind partially shut down when he fully registered what the dragon had said.

"What? Genesis and Ruin? Like... like..."

"Like Alcyrion's Legendary weapons?" The red dragon, Ruin, shook his head. "Geez, I wonder how the hell you managed to summon us. Are you always this dense?"

"Ruin, behave," Genesis said. "Yes, we are the swords that Alcyrion once used. And now... now it appears that we'll be used once again."

"But I don't understand!" James protested. "I don't even know how you guys got here!"

"Eh, I don't think anyone understands everything," Genesis said with a shrug. "Although, I always got the feeling that Alcyrion knew a little more than he told us. Come to think of it, this is probably his doing. For some reason, he's taking a particular liking to you." The dragon looked at James intently. "And I'm not completely sure why."

Outside of James' mind, Iter snapped out of his shock and howled, the sound tearing through the air. He spun Clayrbodias around and snarled.

"Hey, Genesis, you can philosophy later," Ruin yelled. He gave a toothy grin and shook out his arms. "Iter looks pissed."

"I don't know how you got your hands on those swords," the Zenith Wolf called. "But don't think that will allow you to beat me. In fact, I just want to kill you even more."

"Aren't you gonna say something back?" Genesis asked.

"I can't. For some reason, I can't talk in the real world."

The dragon frowned. "Hm, possibly an effect of your powers being unlocked for the first time. Overflowing concentration making your mind slightly unstable?"

"Doesn't matter," Ruin said. "Kid, can you move?"

"I have a name you know. It's James."

Ruin huffed. "Fine. James, can you move?"

James flicked the swords, sending blasts of power flying to his left and right. The ground around him shattered and the giant silhouette behind Iter flinched.

"Yeah, I think I can!"

Genesis and Ruin both moved to stand behind James.

"Good. We've wanted revenge on that sack of fur ever since he forced Alcyrion to sacrifice himself 12 billion years ago," Ruin growled.

"Besides, Iter seems a lot weaker than we remember," Genesis noted, narrowing his eyes. "He's only about as strong as a Dragon-General I'd say. Maybe a bit stronger, but not by much."

"But that doesn't change the fact that I can't fight him!" James cried. "I'm just a kid!"

"A kid holding two of the most powerful weapons in the universe!" Ruin said. "We've fought Lord Iter before, and it looks like he's still using his old sword style, Devastator Fang. So, we'll give you a bit of help and show you its one counter, the thing that allowed Alcyrion to go head to head with him. "

"Oh, he hates that sword style," Genesis said with a chuckle.

"Kid, we're going to show you how to handle us properly. We're going to teach you the basics of Soaring Dragon!"

Iter finally lost his patience and howled before charging towards James at lightning speed.

"Genesis, with me!" Ruin roared.

Both of the swords glowed, their draconic representations following suit, before a wave of power swirled around his mental space. In an instant, James could see the trajectory Clayrbodias would take, could visualize several different options, and could feel the swords settling into his hands.

"We can give you the tools, but it's still up to you!" Genesis cried. "Make a move!"

James sucked in a breath. Spinning around, he swung Ruin, aiming for Clayrbodias. The blades hit, sending sparks of magic skittering across the ground, while James stumbled briefly from the impact.

"Balance, kid!" Ruin said, narrowing his eyes. "If you get knocked over, you're dead."

"Right!"

"He's going for another swing!" Genesis called. "Block and follow up!"

The two clashed once more, this time their attacks sending out magical shockwaves that shattered nearby rocks to dust. James and Iter both moved incredibly fast, one relying on an infinite amount of experience and the other on luck, instinct, and the training of the voices in his head.

"Faster, faster! Strike to your left! Block!" Ruin was roaring in pleasure. "Yes, yes! To fight once more after so long!"

Iter snarled after seeing that James could somehow manage to keep up with his attacks. Jumping back a short distance, he unleashed a hundred waves of Void energy in the span of a single second.

"You think you can stop us with that?" Ruin thundered. "Break the universe and shatter creation!"

Inside the mind-space, his dragon form swept out a hand. His sword in James' hand glowed before all of the approaching slashes were cut to bits by an invisible wave of energy. The shockwave blasted Iter over, sending him tumbling a short distance away before he sprung back up, looking at James with anger and rage.

"You've gained the acceptance of those blades, too?" he growled. "Who are you exactly? Answer me!"

James chose to respond by dashing forward, taking the chance to attack. Iter shivered slightly for the first time in the entire fight, feeling the smallest amount of trepidation creep down his spine, and became absolutely livid.

"Fine! Then die to something that transcendences your pathetic knowledge!"

Genesis' head snapped up and he roared. "James, get back now!"

Caught off guard, he followed instructions, stopping his attack and leaping back. Iter howled and spun Clayrbodias, slashing apart the ground around him.

Ruin's face grew dark. "Devastator Fang 1ststance, Crushing Infinity! James, you'll need to do exactly as we say! Otherwise, you'll die in seconds!"

James gulped, looking at Iter but not understanding why the dragons were so worried. "Alright, I'll listen!"

The fabric of Reality around Iter suddenly flexed and the god vanished, appearing before James without a sound. Moving faster than ever, he lashed out, aiming for the head.

"Here we go!" both dragons called. "Pay attention! Reverse right block, left hand!"

James hesitated at hearing the odd command, all of his traditional senses telling him that that was wrong. He followed the block anyway, not having another option, and their swords hit, the impact shaking James' entire arm. At that moment, Reality shivered again and Clayrbodias appeared on his other side, instantly changing position and flying in for another strike.

"Spin sword to block, left hand! Change to reverse grip, right hand!"

With the weight of the greatsword no longer pressing down, James was free to swing Ruin up to quickly defend. Spinning Genesis around backwards, he swiftly thrust his hand up, catching a downward cut on the crossguard.

James' mouth dropped open. Even if I was more experienced, I don't think I'd be able to react in time and still figure out what to do!

He continued following the swords' instructions, whirling around to block and dodge a storm of attacks that continuously appeared from thin air. After a straight minute of nonstop fighting, Iter's presence vanished and reformed up in the air.

"Final attack, kid! Up above!"

Clayrbodias slashed impossibly fast and for a single second James could have sworn he saw double. A cross of unstable Void lightning flew down at his face and he put both blades up, ready to cleave the attack apart.

"Wait," Genesis cried, his eyes flying open. "More than one attack? James, behind you!"

The boy turned his head to see Clayrbodias flying at him, the tip just about to touch his eye. He froze, staring death in the face.

"Ruin!" Genesis called.

Both dragons turned and swept out their hands, sending out a massive pulse of magic, and the gems and sigils on their respective swords flashed brightly. Clayrbodias was hit with another slash of invisible energy, knocking it to the side, while a fireball formed in midair and deflected the Void lightning.

Genesis and Ruin each fell to one knee, panting lightly.

"Can't do that many more times," Genesis said, shaking his head. "Weapons casting spells by themselves is something that kind of breaks every law in the book. You've got to get stronger first."

"Stop wasting time!" Ruin roared. "Crushing Infinity is done, so you have an opportunity! Use it!"

James faced Iter, who had just rematerialized back on the ground and was looking stupefied. The boy grasped both swords and a string of commands entered his head.

"Soaring Dragon 1st stance, Rising Wing!"

Iter had just enough time to ready his greatsword before James was on top of him.

"Five strikes! Here goes nothing!"

The Zenith Wolf roared, swinging Clayrbodias up to block the first overhead attack. Twisting the swords around and crossing them, James slashed outwards, not aiming for Iter, but instead grinding them against each other. A wave of magic burst out, smashing into Iter and knocking him back.

"What? This is Rising Wing!" Iter howled. "How dare you!"

James followed up with twin attacks from both the right and left simultaneously. Iter brought Clayrbodias up and formed a shield in the air for the other but was left open. Following the final command, James brought the blades low and crossed them again. And this time, he wasn't grinding them.

Iter couldn't dodge and was hit. He shot into the air, thrown up by the double strike, and crashed to the ground meters away. James was suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion and leaned slightly on Genesis, sweat dripping down his face.

"A shame," Ruin growled. "If you had more training, you could have comboed with another attack."

"Give the boy a break," Genesis said. "Hardly anyone his age could have pulled that off in the first place."

Iter got to his feet, but hesitated and touched his chest, almost in disbelief. His hand came away dabbed with a small amount of blood and he looked up at James, narrowing his eyes.

"I should have seen it from the moment you drew those blasted swords," he grunted. "You don't just have Alcyrion's magic, you have his weapons, his style. That damn bastard prepared for this. He never intended to return. Instead, he picked an heir!"

James froze, while the dragons next to him nodded.

"That would make a lot of sense," Genesis pointed out. "After all, no one else in existence has ever managed to summon us."

"But why me?" James cried. "I'm just a kid! Heck, I didn't even know about magic earlier this year!"

"Alcyrion never did make much sense," Ruin said, shaking his head. "Even when he was still alive."

Although James was freaking out in his mind-space, none of that emotion translated over to the real world. Iter watched him for a moment before scowling.

"Well, this started as a way to make myself feel slightly better, but I think it's gone beyond that now," he yelled, raising a hand. "If I don't kill you today, there's sure to be consequences."

White lightning flew out of the crack in the sky and smashed into the silhouette behind the god. Its eyes lit up and a set of long ears formed, pointed like a wolf's but stretching back instead of up. It raised a hand, mimicking Iter, and James shrunk back.

"He's harnessing part of his old power!" Genesis said in a shaky voice.

"What do I do?" James cried.

Both dragons looked at each other, and then at James

"Right now, we don't know," Ruin whispered. "I'd pray."

The Zenith Wolf growled softly at the prey standing before him. "If you had been a bit more powerful, then it would have been incredibly difficult for me to beat you. One more stance, one more spell, maybe you would have even won. But right now, there is still a great difference between us."

He smiled, his teeth slightly pointed. "You are a mortal and I... I am a god."

He lowered his hand and the silhouette's fell as well, crashing down and bringing with it the merest fraction of Iter's original strength as the famed god of Destruction. James swallowed, frozen in terror, unable to even life a finger.

"Well," Iter said. "Nice to know you, James."

Without warning, the descending hand halted, caught by the wrist, and this time it was Lord Iter that froze.

"What...?"

He looked up slowly to see a dragon the size of a mountain forming out of bright magic. It was the one holding Iter's attack back and, after halting for a brief moment, threw its hand out and sent the wolf silhouette crashing back.

"That's... that's...!"

"Alcyrion!" both swords cried at the same time. "That's the Dragon-God!"

The massive avatar looked down to glare at Iter with golden eyes, the god now seeming tiny in comparison. Then, it spread wings of starlight and sent out a pulse of magic that partially closed the Omega Rift, shaking the destroyed school in the process.

"That's Alcyrion," James said breathlessly. "That's one from the stories, from the Origin War. The original lord of the elements. He's... amazing!"

Iter screamed, tearing the ground and air around him to shreds. Reaching out, he grabbed Clayrbodias and slashed the air, ripping apart the fabric of Reality and sending Void lightning crashing down around him. His eyes were wild, giving him an insane look.

"You! You were the one that sealed me away! You were the one that kept me from returning home, who denied me the joys of victory time and time again! And now, even past your time, you still won't disappear!"

This time, it was his silhouette that howled, the sound covering the entire planet. It even woke Dragon General Strike, who was still buried under a pile of rubble in the corner of the battlefield. Using all of his strength to shove aside several chunks of rock, he raised his head to see the two mighty gods facing each other down in their endless fight.

"That's Alcyrion," he gasped. "And is that James?"

Strike looked closer, mouth falling open in astonishment as he noticed the boy's swords. "Those are Genesis and Ruin! What... what's going on?!?"

Iter screamed again before jumping up to land on top of his silhouette's head.

"I'm destroying you now! Damn be the consequences, but this ends here!"

He raised Clayrbodias, his silhouette following, and Alcyrion's avatar narrowed its eyes before stepping back into a fighting stance.

A sudden voice rang out through the stadium. "Lord, I implore you. Return and fight another time. Your Archons are waiting!"

Iter growled and looked up to see a wolf floating in the sky, fur crackling with energy.

"Archon Salvor, why are you here? I thought I told you to leave!"

The wolf grinned. "This little one knows his Lord too well. Please, Zenith Wolf, Eternius is only moments away. Even if you stay, you will not have time to finish your fight!"

Iter's face filled with rage before he struggled briefly to keep his anger in check. Finally, he glared up at Alcyrion, his eyes filled with icy rage, before looking down at James.

"The next time we meet, boy, will be the last. I recommend that you become stronger before we fight again. After all, this was a mere 15% of my strength. How do you think 50% would feel?"

The god sighed one last time before slashing the air with Clayrbodias, opening back up the Omega Rift. Dissolving his avatar, he made the greatsword vanish before flying through, followed closely by Salvor. The cut in the sky closed behind him, disappearing as though it had never existed in the first place.

Alcyrion's silhouette dissolved as well, turning into wisps of magic that tickled James' face briefly before flying away. The boy looked down at the tattered stadium, the destroyed school, and his own destroyed robes, before letting out a chuckle of disbelief.

"Holy hells, we did it. We did it! I actually managed to fight a god!"

"Well done," Genesis said, his body relaxing. "Well done."

"Still a lot of work to be done, though," Ruin grumbled, although he was smiling. "You still have no idea how to handle a sword without out help, let alone two."

Genesis shook his head. "Give him a break, idiot. He did fine."

"Hey!" James cried. "You're disappearing!"

Genesis looked down at himself and Ruin before shrugging. "Alcyrion's magic is wearing off and you can't maintain the summons anymore. We're not your swords yet, after all. My brother's right; you have a lot of work to do."

The dragons vanished and the swords followed. James clenched his fist before looking up into the sky, panting. His vision slowly grew dark.

"Yeah, I've got a lot to do. A lot to do..."

The boy collapsed, his body and mind utterly spent. Strike blasted his way out of the rubble and flashed over, not caring about the state of his magic, but found that James was still alive. The dragon rearranged him into a more comfortable position and then sat down himself, watching his Flash Armor slowly fix itself as it absorbed his magic.

"This changes quite a few things," the General muttered. "It's not only you, James. We've also got a lot to do."

A flash of light overhaead caught his attention and he looked up to see a planet-sized portal appear next to Dorian-5. Sigils lit up all over it and charged with magic before a flood of dragons began to emerge, assembling into squadrons before flying towards the planet. Next to the portal, a fleet of ships materialized out of a ripple in space, accompanied by a small figure.

"It looks like my siblings and Eternius are here." Strike sighed. "Late as usual." He grumbled. "Time to go report what happened."

****

"Ugh, what happened? It's like I got run over by a train."

"Well, by most people's standards, you did."

James opened his eyes to find that he was lying in a bed. Lord Eternius was sitting in a chair nearby. The god glanced over, closing a holographic screen, and rested his chin on his hands.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asked.

James groaned. "Did you not just hear me?" He looked around. "Where are we?"

"In one of the Ikirian cities," Eternius said. "With everything that's happened, the Queens are temporarily allowing mages to visit and investigate freely."

"Really?" James said, rolling over. "Guess that it was pretty serious."

"Oh, it was," Eternius said dryly. "Iter's now unsealed, Strike lost a dragon, and now, according to some people, you're the heir of Alcyrion."

James sat up, narrowing his eyes. "You sound like you're blaming me for this."

"Really? How funny," Eternius said. "Because ever since you arrived, you've made waves, both good and bad."

"Hey, don't forget I was the one that stopped Iter. Summoning the dual blades of the Dragon-God, hello?"

Eternius snorted. "You were also the one that allowed for his release in the first place. After all, if you hadn't been so gullible, the Chancellor wouldn't have been able to steal your magic."

"Oh, really?!" James scowled. "You're the god, so why are you blaming me? Aren't you supposed to be all high and mighty? Or, are you just angry that you didn't figure it out and prevent the whole thing?"

Eternius turned red. "I guess I should have stopped back at the Arcane Quintessium at the beginning of the year. That way, at least, you wouldn't have caused so many problems. And, kid, I'd advise against insulting me right now."

James felt an enormous pressure bearing down on his head, causing the bed to shake underneath him. A tiny crack ran up the nearby window and the boy panted, in both fear and anger.

Eternius glared. "I'm a bit testy right now."

The door to the room blew open and a figure swept inside.

"You know, Eternius," Enigma said, snapping his book closed. "You need to watch that temper of yours."

The pressure in the room doubled and the windowpane fractured.

"How dare you speak to me that way," Eternius ground out through clenched teeth. "Don't you forget that I am the god of Space."

Enigma snorted and held up his golden pocket watch, waving it in the air. "And don't you forget who I represent." He smiled. "Ignatius and the Queens are waiting for you. They'd like to construct a plan for the remaining temples, and I'd like some alone time, if you don't mind."

Eternius hesitated before stalking out the door. Enigma sighed and turned to James.

"You'll probably want these." The man pulled a package out of thin air and threw it on the bed. "Your old ones didn't exactly survive."

James walked out of the room 5 minutes later, wearing a new set of shapeshifting clothes, and nodded at Enigma.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked.

"A lot of things," the man answered, checking his watch. "I've got time. Let's go for a walk."

The air outside was crisp and fresh. Emerging out of a building a short distance away from the huge silver and gold tree, James followed Enigma along a series of branches.

"So, how long was I out for?" the boy asked, waving at a group of Ikirian flying by. "It's a lot brighter."

"That would be because it's morning," Enigma said, rolling his eyes. "Don't worry, you've only been asleep for about 2 days, which is a lot shorter than I thought considering you blew through your magic like it was nothing and overclocked your brain to about a thousand percent efficiency. Kids these days..."

"It's not like I had another option," James said indignantly.

"No, you didn't," Enigma answered slowly. "No, you didn't."

They walked along in silence for a moment before Enigma groaned.

"Well, I probably should apologize for Lord Eternius' behavior back there."

"Seriously? He was going to attack me for a moment!"

Enigma sighed again, stopping and looking at James. "He's been through a lot recently, especially in the past year."

James halted as well. "He's a god. He deals with this sort of stuff all the time, doesn't he? Defending Reality and making sure everyone is safe? He shouldn't act like... like a normal mage would."

"Like a mortal would, you mean?" The man shook his head. "James, you have to understand something about every god, even the Primes. There are only 3 things that makes them different from you. They've received the acceptance of their dimension, they've mastered an aspect or affinity to a degree of understanding that is almost unbelievable, and they follow a guiding principle that gives them strength but is also their greatest flaw."

James raised an eyebrow. "Really. And what is Eternius' greatest flaw?"

"You haven't guessed? The Lord of Space is rigid, preferring a precise degree of order and structure to everything in existence. It makes sense too, considering his specialty. The fabric of existence is laid out in a perfect pattern and it always makes absolute sense. Eternius makes things this way in order to better protect people and keep things running smoothly, but, when something happens that goes beyond the expected, he doesn't take it too well."

Enigma gestured at James. "Like you, for example."

"Because I'm from a nonmagical planet."

Enigma chuckled. "Heavens, no. If it was just that, Eternius would be angry, but he wouldn't flip his lid. Rather, he still doesn't know how you managed to pierce his spells or how you got sent over in the first place. Couple that with what just happened, and you've got one pissed off god."

They stood in silence again, taking in the jungle floor far below.

James broke the quiet. "I assume you didn't call me out here to talk about Eternius."

Enigma nodded. "Correct. Instead, I wanted to ask you... If you could go home, back to your planet, would you?"

James glanced over. "You're not the first person to ask me that."

Enigma's eyes lit up, but he didn't say anything. James thought for a moment before sighing.

"Before, I couldn't really answer and I still don't know if I can. If I go back now, I'll be leaving everyone to deal with Iter on their own. I know I won't forget them and I know I definitely won't be ok not knowing if they're alright. But a big part of me also doesn't want to stay."

"Because you'll need to fight Iter?"

"Because I don't want to see another person I care about lose their life."

Enigma was quiet before for a moment before asking a sudden question.

"How were your siblings? Before you left, I mean."

"Didn't have any."

"Parents?"

James glanced over, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Hm. Well, on to more light-hearted things," Enigma said, stretching his arms and checking his watch once more. "What were you planning to do over the summer after the school's term over?"

James blinked at the subject change before answering. "I haven't really thought about it. I was probably just going to stay at the Quintessium or see if I could do something with my friends."

Enigma nodded. "And would you be interested in an internship position?"

James raised an eyebrow. "An internship?"

Enigma nodded. "Remember how there's a Librarian at the Arcane Quintessium? Celtis, I believe. Well, there are a vast number of Librarians stationed across all of Reality, collecting information, documenting history, that sort of thing."

"Like some sort of secret society?" James asked dryly.

"Exactly!" Enigma answered. "It just happens to be the case that their leader, the Head Librarian, is looking for an assistant. It would be great experience and I'm sure you would come into contact with several ancient manuscripts at some point. Say, ones that detailed how to better utilize your budding powers?"

James raised a second eyebrow, the dots already connecting in his head. "Sounds convenient."

Enigma chuckled. "Oh, it is, but just remember, nothing is a coincidence. One time offer, take it or leave it."

He held out a hand and James considered it for a moment before shaking. "This is really my only option, isn't it?"

"No, but it is by far the easiest and most assured." Enigma grinned. "You and I are going to be very busy over the next couple of months."

"I can see why Strike hates you."

"He hates me for a different reason than you're thinking."

"You're not going to actually answer any of the questions I ask, are you?"

Enigma laughed. "Not unless they're good ones." A ringing noise erupted from his pocket and he sighed.

"Looks like your friends are tearing up the city looking for you. You'll be happy to know they all survived, by the way, although the Ikirians seem a little distressed. Apparently, Algon's being chased around by a giant fluffball that seems intent on playing."

He started to walk back towards the main city but suddenly stopped and glanced back at James.

"Oh, and I'll need that medallion back now."

James was confused before remembering something and pulling out his amulet. Inside, the divine seal still shone brightly. Holding it in his hand for a moment, he handed it over and Enigma smiled.

"Thank you. These things are not easy to make and my boss would get very angry with me if I didn't return it on time."

Another ringing noise erupted from his pocket and Enigma reached in and came out with his watch.

"Damn, those idiots messed up again. I swear..." he growled, checking the face briefly before looking at James. "I've got to go. _Someone_touched something that they weren't supposed to. Head off, talk to your friends, give them the rundown and I'll meet you after you finish the term. Sound good?"

Enigma clicked his watch before James could answer, vanishing in the sunlight. The boy sighed before looking back out at the jungle, the dense green suddenly reminding him a lot of Earth.

"I'm still not giving up," he said quietly. "Mom, Uncle Radcliff, Michael and Sythia, I'll come home eventually. But now, I've got some more important things to take care of. And what I said earlier stands. I'm not going to let anyone get hurt again. If the gods each have guiding principles, then that's my own!"

His voice echoed through the trees, sounding out several times before becoming indistinct. James sighed.

"I've got a lot of things to take care of. I've to get stronger. I've got to master new powers that I didn't know even existed before this year. And I've got to keep everyone alive while doing it."

He snapped his fingers, creating a tiny ball of flame that rose up and hovered in the air. The mysterious man's words, no... Alcyrion's words echoed through his head again.

The challenges you will face will determine whether you become a star.

"That's my goal now, I suppose. I've got to light up the darkness, or some 'chosen one' thing like that."

His amulet buzzed in his pocket, interrupting his thoughts. Taking it out, he glanced at it briefly before Lydia's voice screamed out at him.

"James, where in the name of Alcyrion are you?!? You better have a really good explanation for running off on us!!! We want answers!!!"

James gulped. "Oh no, I almost forgot! Ack! Lydia, don't be mad! I'm coming, I'm coming!"

He headed back towards the city, running, not walking. Above, the sun shone brightly and beyond the blue sky, the stars sat, invisible for now but ready to shine when the sun went to bed. All this and more lay in wait, an endless destiny, but for now, there was time to relax. And pray to the Primes that your friends wouldn't beat you up too hard when you sheepishly returned. Because for everything that had happened, some things never really changed.