Joan woke up in a soft bed inside an unfamiliar room. She immediately recognized the architecture, since every room below the Colosseum looked somewhat similar.

When Sera built the entire complex, she couldn't expand energy on decor and different wall colors. Afterward, they did some decorating, like placing a portrait of Sera inside every room where one of their enemies resided.

However, most rooms stayed unused, and now Joan found herself inside one such room.

Her last memory was of agonizing pain, so she was pleasantly surprised to find herself fully healed. Also, a strange feeling coursed through her entire body. Like a powerful energy waiting to be unleashed.

Curiously, she raised her hand and pointed her index finger at a tiny statue of the Angel. Electricity danced along her skin, then shot forth with immense power.

She barely expanded Essence, yet the statue and most of the wall got destroyed. Through the hole, she glimpsed into a connected bathroom, which thankfully was empty.

The toilet and bath both suffered serious damage, shooting water in the air, while only a pipe remained from the sink. Glass shards covered the ground, which was probably a mirror once.

"Wow..." whispered Joan in a shocked tone while gazing at her hand brimming with power.

Her eyes remained focused on her hand, so she didn't see as thousands of hidden Runes began glowing and repairing the damage. As if time turned back, the debris floated back to its original place, until no signs of the destruction were left.

"Could you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep." Said a tired voice beside Joan.

Startled, she jumped in surprise, but a pair of firm hands kept hold of her left arm. Her heart beat fast as she gazed down at the intruder... A beautiful woman with whitish-blond hair... Her girlfriend...

"Dammit, Melinda! You scared the shit out of me!"

Melinda just chuckled and opened her two-colored eyes while yawning. She stretched her arms, then smirked at Joan and pulled her back in bed.

They spent some time kissing, but eventually Joan stopped before they went any further. The evolution and the emotions it brought were still fresh in her mind, ruining her mood.

"When does Adam's fight begin?" She asked to change the subject.

A light chuckle echoed from Melinda's glistening lips as she noted the hidden meaning behind the question. With a sigh, she leaned back in the bed, then raised her watch and started up the holo-screen.

"It began about half an hour ago."

On the screen, a tall, muscular man wearing cloudy glass-like armor ran through the forest, brandishing an array of weapons.

Adam spent the past few months training with every weapon imaginable. His ability wasn't the best for offense other than creating most kinds of weapons, so he needed as much versatility as he could get during a fight.

However, he only managed to perfect about a dozen weapons, which he now used to kill anyone standing in his way.

"Who's he trying to Evolve with? I forgot." Asked Joan while watching Adam toss a spear at some angelic being.

It pierced the creature's stomach, but they still exchanged a few more blows before Adam's sword dripped with blood and his enemy's head rolled on the ground.

"The last member of the Egyptian Pantheon... The Sun God or whatever his name is..."

...

Adam walked through the forest with quick, confident steps. His mind was empty of useless thoughts as he focused on his next prey.

He crouched down on a high branch while staring at the minor god of the Hindu Pantheon walking beneath him. The glass sword in his hand changed shape, shortening until it turned into a dagger.

The glass knight then prepared to drop down and kill his enemy, when a sudden explosion of light brightened the forest.

Below him, the minor god ran in the opposite direction, while Adam's eyes focused on its point of origin.

"Status?" he asked, seemingly from the empty air.

"It's Ra. He killed another few fighters. There's less than ten of you remain and it seems he noticed your presence." Answered the tree branch below his feet.

Bea's words were hundred percent correct, since after finishing speaking, a new opponent walked into the clearing below Adam.

A powerfully built man with a falcon head and a glowing aura surrounding his body. He walked into the clearing proudly, his eyes jumping around in search of something.

Adam tried staying still and hidden, yet it didn't matter. Ra's bright eyes soon landed on the exact branch Adam was hiding on. He couldn't be seen from below, yet the primordial god's gaze stayed unmoving.

"You need not hide, child! It'll all be over soon! Won't you desire a dignified death? An honorable way to pass through the fog of life into the peaceful embrace of the Afterlife?"

Without remaining options, Adam dismissed his dagger and jumped off the branch. Just as he expected, Ra didn't attack immediately.

The myths about him suggested a prideful person who's benevolent and honorable. He isn't nearly as bad as most primordials, yet his greed for control and power landed him here, with everyone else.

He's a born leader, who could never accept another person's orders. His kind would rather perish in honor with their pride than kneel before anyone more powerful and live on in shame.

"Good. Now we can begin." Said the falcon-headed man while nodding at Adam.

Ra's hands began glowing and a moment later two golden sickle-like weapons appeared in his palms. He spun the crescent khopesh swords and pointed them towards Adam, awaiting him to summon his own weapon.

Adam glanced at the strange-looking swords. They didn't have much range, and their blades made them bad thrusting weapons. After a bit of thinking, the glass-like substance of his gauntlets spread in both directions, creating a long halberd.

The polearm had a single longer blade on one side and a smaller hook-like protrusion opposite the blade. Its tip ended in a spear-like spike, which he aimed at the primordial god.

After they both had their weapons in hand, Ra's body glowed brightly, blinding everything except Adam.

His glass-like helmet changed crystal structure, creating a partial mirror-like surface. Only a smaller portion of the photons passed through the glass mask and reached his eye, giving his vision back.

Even then, Ra moved fast with enormous power, giving Adam no time to react properly. He could barely raise his halberd's shaft to block before the heavy blow sent him flying.

The weapon broke to pieces as he flew backward, but the sacrifice was worth it, since his body remained intact. Still, blood welled in a shallow cut along his chest, but both his armor and wound recovered a moment later.

Sadly, Ra gave him no quarter. The moment Adam hit a tree while flying, he was standing before him, bringing down his khopesh.

Adam rolled to the side, an invisible push from Bea propelling him further. The blades struck the tree, which of course, remained unbroken, unlike the ground below it, which exploded into a cloud of dust and dirt.

Through the dust cloud, Ra jumped through, his falcon face impassive and unyielding. Adam could barely breathe as he summoned a spear and thrust towards the primordial god's belly.

One khopesh hooked onto its blade, while another broke the shaft, with enough force to send Adam flying again. The glass armor cracked from the impact, but he didn't care.

There was no time to ponder. Every move needed to be instantaneous, otherwise he would die from Ra's next attack.

Behind him, Ra was already raising his swords when Adam summoned another, shorter spear and tossed it towards the primordial being. Without looking, Ra parried the flying weapon, then raised a single sword to block Adam's incoming glaive.

For a moment, Adam floated midair, the force of his own attack keeping him from falling. However, the moment soon ended, as Ra spun around faster than Adam could even see and slashed his other khopesh along his stomach.

The glass-like armor gave way to the powerful blade. Pain flooded Adam's body as he found himself weightless again, only to hit another tree.

An audible crack echoed through the forest as Adam's crumpled form lay beside an unharmed tree.

His spine partially broke, the same as most of his armor and limbs. Through the open wound, his guts hung loose, and a pool of blood spread below his broken body.

Small footsteps echoed as Ra arrived before Adam...

"It was an honorable attempt, my child, but you've much to learn about your powers yet. I'm truly sad your progress ends here. You could've indeed become a powerful warrior... Forgive me for taking your life... We'll see each other in the Afterlife!"

He raised his right khopesh and brought it down fast, aiming at Adam's neck. However, even broken, he wasn't ready to embrace death.

With both hands raised and crossed, he summoned a thick glass-like shield, which stopped the blade momentarily. His body lowered a meter into the ground as the heavy blow created a crater below them.

Ra, for the first time, showed emotion. He seemed pleasantly surprised that Adam didn't go quietly and instead fought for survival.

However, while he admired his attempt, he didn't stop pounding on the shield with both his khopesh.

Each strike reverberated across Adam's body, driving him further into the ground. His arm broke and healed dozens of times, while the shield suffered more thorough damage, until the inevitable happened.

Glass shards flew around the room-like structure below the tree.

A sudden gasp of agony echoed beside the sound of breaking glass, as Adam's hands flew away with his broken shield. Blood squirted from the open wounds as Ra sighed while shaking his head.

"No need to fear death, child. I'll follow you soon to Afterlife... Victory against either of them is impossible... I now understand that..."

He sounded melancholic as he raised his khopesh once again and prepared to bring it down on Adam's neck while staring into his eyes...

The weapon never arrived though... Instead, the room exploded!