Written by: Epicstu Wyyvernwriter

The Fifth was a shadowy being of unspeakable horror who delighted in torturing its victims. Without so much as introducing himself, he would watch them slowly die within their own minds.
Edward found himself at the top of a snow-capped mountain, freezing to death. Dolan found himself drowning in water with no surface in site. Their minds empty, neither one could even remember their own name.
* *
All was calm under the starry sky of eternal night as the Dreadnautilus floated atop the ocean that filled half the Realm it occupied. Suddenly he began to tilt as alarms sounded all through the great ship, “This is it!” Captain Chastity shouted to her crew, “all hands to stations!” she rushed to the bridge and took hold of the helm. “It is time to show the Wyyvern of Fate who the original Fates are.”
“Captain!” Magnus shouted, trying to steady himself as the ship struggled to remain still.
Chastity laughed, “haven’t gotten your sea legs yet, huh Strife?”
“Chastity!” Magnus shouted with urgency. “We can not stop it from diving, we just don’t have the power.”
“Then let us use its power against it,” Chastity let go of the helm, and the Dreadnautilus was pulled with great force on its side, upside down, and then was dragged nose first under the water.
“Are you mad!?” Magnus asked his Captain as he tumbled around the bridge of the spiraling ship.
“Are you not still the Archangel Strife? or has your Wyyvern forging and your new name made you weak?” Death replied. “Get up and use those wings of yours.”
For three millennia Strife had been Magnus, the Wyyvern Artillery of Strife. He had not been in his angelic form since his first reforging when the Nekolich gave him his name. His newly reforged wings were the same as he remembered them, yet they felt different than they had all those millennia ago. They were stronger now, reforged of Undeath and the Wyyvern of Strife. The Wyyvern that only existed because he did. He flexed them, and his metallic body shimmered. The raw, eternal, and absolute element that is Strife was him. He was steady now as the Dreadnautilus he was in spun around him, “Orders, Captain Death?” he asked with renewed confidence.
“There’s a good lad,” Death replied. “Full speed ahead, catch us up,” she smiled. “When I give the signal take us back to the surface.”
“Aye Aye, Captain!” Strife unleashed himself into the Dreadnautilus, and the ship stabilized and began gaining on the Wyyvern of Fate at an, ever so slightly increasing rate. “Fynrir! To the engines with you! Keep us going at all costs!”
Fynrir jumped with excitement, “Aye Sir,” he saluted. He was the best mechanic in the Realm he had hailed from, and he had loved his job.
“Famine!” Death called to Hubris, and he appeared.
“Yes, Captian?” Hubris spoke with a deep and snake-like voice. He had no wings, he simply levitated. Heavy chains covered the tattered and torn robes draped over his gaseous body. He was like a silhouette, a cloud of thick smog. He was Famine. He looked at his Captain without eyes and awaited her orders.
“Launch your anchors,” Death Ordered, “all of them. Pull it in as close as you can. We cannot allow the Wyyvern of Fate to escape us. Try to weaken it if you can.”
Famine nodded and unleashed himself upon the Wyyvern of Fate, tethering it to the ship with massive anchored chains and covering it in a noxious smog. “Gloria,” he called to his past wielder.
“What the Hell could I possibly do to help you, Hubris? I am the damn lunch lady,” Gloria replied with aggravated sass. Hubris gave no reply, he just enjoyed the snarky attitude. “Mmhmm,” said Gloria as she dumped some grub onto Galvic’s lunch tray, “That’s what I thought.”
“Umm… what is this?” Galvic asked.
Gloria looked at Galvic with an, ever so slightly raised eyebrow, “it’s gumbo.”
Galvic gave the strange food a whiff, “May I have more?” Gloria scooped another large helping of gumbo and dropped it on Glavic’s tray, “thank you,” said Glavic.
Mmhmm, your welcome,” Gloria replied.
“War!” Death shouted, and they appeared.
Sun, the righteous hand of War, and Tzu, the wicked hand of War stood side by side. Sun wore golden armor, and her wings were of white feathers. She held a mighty spear of light in her right hand. In her left hand, she held the power to bring order. Her stance was that of a compassionate knight. Tzu wore blood red armor, and his wings were of black scales. He held a hefty hammer of darkness in his right hand resting it on his shoulder. In his left hand, he held the power to bring chaos. His stance was that of a cruel warrior. “Orders?” they asked in unison. Sun’s voice was calming, and Tzu’s voice was terrifying.
“Take the fleet,” Death ordered. “Get the Wyyvern of Fate to turn its side to us by any means necessary.”
Sun saluted her Captain with a serious face. Tzu nodded his head and grinned at his Captain. “Galvic!” they shouted in unison.
“Awe, come on!” Galvic shouted in reply.
“Now, Glavic!” War shouted louder.
“Alway’s while I’m eating,” Galvic left his meal and became many as War unleashed themselves. From the Dreadnautilus’s hanger bays poured an endless stream of spherical craft each piloted by a Galvic as Sun and Tzu lead them to the Wyyvern of Fate. They lacked the firepower to subdue the Wyyvern, but the damage was still enough for War to force it in another direction.
“There we go,” Death said with a smile as the Wyyvern of Fate turned its side to the Dreadnautilus. At that moment Death unleashed herself, and from the nose of the Dreadnautilus, a great jagged spear was forged. “Brace for impact!” she shouted as the Dreadnautilus rammed Death’s jagged spear through the belly of the Wyyvern of Fate, anchoring it to the ship. “Strife! Now!” she shouted as she turned the wheel hard to starboard. The Dreadnautilus pulled a full 180 with no resistance and shot towards the surface at full speed. “Lucy take the helm,” Death requested and without a word Death’s old wielder did. “It’s high time the Wyyvern of Fate and I got acquainted,” Death left the bridge and headed top side.
* *
In the cold, and snow Edward shivered as he desperately struck a flint to rock. A spark formed and the kindling he had shred from his own armored robes lit up. He blew gently to help the fire grow, then a heavy breeze blew his fire away from him, “No!” he fell to his knees, “no, no, no, no!” His armor’s robes were thick, and his fur was thicker, but neither was thick enough. The frozen air, heavy breeze, and blanket of snow chilled him to the very bone and made it hard for him to breath. He put his paw-like hand to his neck as though to grab something, but there was nothing there. He could not remember if there ever was something there, but he felt as though there should be. Then he saw a lone black feather pulsing with purple lightning. He picked it up cautiously, it did not hurt him. It comforted him and put a smile on his face. “I can do this,” he said, and then he remembered his six-inch retractable claws. He unsheathed them, stuck the feather behind his right ear, and began slowly climbing down the treacherous mountain.
With the pressure of the deep water crushing him, Dolan could not move. He had held his breath for as long as he could, but he grew faint, and soon darkness took him. “Is this the end?” he thought to himself. “did I ever even have a beginning?” Then a bright light appeared the waters whirled in circles at every possible angle forming a bubble of air around him. As he levitated in the center, he saw a creature made of purest light swimming just outside the bubble. It was shaped like a dove only with a thicker longer tail. It stared into Dolan’s eyes from outside the bubble and Dolan was unable to look away. He felt unworthy before the creature and cried out in fear as its pureness blinded him.
Edward had been climbing down the mountain for what seemed like hours before he found a ledge. He dropped down to it, but when he looked up, he found himself back at the top again, “Ah!” he shouted to the sky. “What the me!?” he shouted. Then he paused, he had meant to say Hell, “Why did I say me?”
Then his fur caught fire as a deep and terrifying voice called to him, “you have been lied to.” He groaned in pain and agony as he wept and his teeth began to gnash. “Is my new soul so weak in mind to fall in such a way?” the voice roared within him.
Edward put his paw-like hand to his neck and found a chainmail scarf around it. Then two words came to his mind.
Dolan could no longer see, but he felt razor sharp talons gently grasp his shoulders and even without his eyes he knew what was around him. His element, “Water,” he said, and waters around him stopped moving. He embraced the water as it filled the space the bubble had made. Then he made it spiral around him creating a current that brought him up to the surface. At the surface, his feet touched hot, dry ground and he could sense the presence of a horror before him. A loud, high pitch, scream pierced his ears, and the creature perched on his shoulder unfurled its wings unleashing purest light and causing the horror to shrink back and cower.
“Iron! Ram!” a familiar voice shouted and a mighty shockwave of cold and snow unleashed in all directions.
Dolan could feel the hot, dry ground he stood upon became cold and snow fell from above him. “Took you long enough,” he said as he remembered who he was.
Edward looked down at the fallen horror he had just headbutted and remembered who he was. Then he turned to his friend and saw his empty eye holes, “Dolan, your eyes.”
“I see better now than I ever have before,” Dolan replied.
“How did you break free?” the fifth questioned in fear. “What is the Wyyvern of Blessedness doing here?”
“Shut up, no lies to me.” Edward snapped and the gate of the fifth shattered. “Ah, there it is.”
“Shall we proceed?” Dolan asked as he turned to the gate.
“To the Sixth,” Edward replied, and the Gate of the Fifth was reforged in his teal snowfire behind them. “Wyyvern of Blessedness, huh?”
“Hey,” Dolan replied, “I just found out too.”
* *
Stu, the Nekolich, Writer watched as a fleet of spherical ships breached the surface of the ocean that filled half the Realm it occupied. Then the Wyyvern of Fate, anchored to the Dreadnautilus’s forward ramming spear broke through and shot out into space. The Wyyvern of Fate wrapped itself around the Dreadnautilus, broke itself free, and circled the great ship. It was angry and ready to fight now. It hid amongst the stars and stalked the Dreadnautilus which had been shaken by its escape. Stu smiled, “you hunted it. Now let us see how you handle being hunted by it.”

* *

Seated upon his throne atop the highest peak in Hell, the Devil held out the palm of his hand and caught a snowflake as it fell from the ceiling of the cavernous Realm that is Hell. “He is getting stronger,” then he leaned forward to get a closer look at the one who was conquering his domain and smiled. “Good.”