More Than A God (IV)

XVIII

"You... What?"

Eli's eyes started to glow again. He looked at Diiran confused, yet motivated. It was a feeling that he couldn't find the words for. He inhaled deeply and exhaled, feeling a strange power flowing through his body as he did. He felt the energy to get up again, and he did as he looked at Diiran.

"You... Knew I would get here?" Eli asked.

"I never knew that you would actually make it, I just knew that you had the potential." Diiran said. "You surely didn't disappoint. And if I'm honest, I saw you as my child from the very beginning. Seeing you grow and become who you are now... I can't even find the words to explain how proud I am."

Eli smiled as he saw a soft side of Diiran that he had never seen. Diiran was nearly crying as the words he was saying were touching his heart. He quickly approached and gave Eli a really tight hug. Eli felt inspired, he felt happy. But he redirected his mind to what was truly going on. Time was stopped, and as soon as it resumed, he'd have to finish a fight that would declare Flockya's destiny.

"Okay... What are we going to do now?" Eli said as he gently stepped back.

"Here's what's going to happen..." Diiran said as he summoned a fireball. It didn't look orange as a normal fireball would. This time, it had a golden glow to it.

"You're going to go out there, and you're going to show Mara you're more than a god..."

He handed the orb to Eli, who put it in his chest and felt all his power return. He wielded his sword and raised it to the sky, preparing for time to resume again.

"Are you ready?" Diiran asked, knowing that there was no going back when time went back to normal.

"Readier than I'll ever be..." Eli said as he closed his eyes. "But, one thing before we go back."

"What is it?"

"Thank you for everything. I won't fail you..."

Diiran caught a smirk, and he snapped his fingers for everything to go back to normal. Eli looked around and saw that everything started to gain its color again. It was time for the battle to continue and reach its end.

Eli quickly moved to the side and avoided the deadly fireball that was directed straight at him. It created a devastating explosion, which he quickly covered himself from with a fire barrier. Once the explosion finished, he quickly ran towards Mara and got a clean cut on her chest. She screamed in pain, and she seemed to be losing her sanity.

"HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?" She screamed as she panted.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you! Come on! TRY AND KILL ME ALREADY!" Eli spat back at her.

Mara pulled her knife out and tried to stab it in Eli's chest, but he parried every move she did. If she got too close, he'd kick her away. If she teleported behind him, he'd spin with his sword and hurt her in the process. She was going crazy, moving recklessly and with an unbearable anger flowing through her veins. Yet Eli never lost his cool.

No one could believe what was happening. They had never seen Eli so determined and focused, nor had they ever met a foe as powerful and dangerous as Mara. Penny couldn't stand simply standing there and seeing everything go down in front of her, and she snapped.

"We need to do something... WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!" Penny screamed.

"Penny! Are you crazy!? We can't match her power!" Skye said.

"But... Something isn't right... He can't fight for a lot longer! We need to do something, now!"

"You're right, he'll give in soon... We need to distract her quickly!" Oliver said.