Poison Revamped

It was the smoke that stuck in his mind. The smell of a hundred burning tomes and scrolls, and of the seared and bubbling flesh of the priests. Among the corpses and the ash, the killer stood, the man he had once called father. He turned, an insane grin stamped on his face. He slowly brought his arms out to his sides, as if to embrace his son.

"My child..." he whispered. "There can be no other way."

The son looked at the sword he now held, his only ally against the onslaught of madness that surrounded him. Despite the blood, the blade gleamed in the light. The blade knew what must happen, even if it's wielder didn't want to.

It's work was not done yet.

The father's grin vanished, as he threw his hands out in front of him, preparing the spell that would render flesh from bone. There was a flash, as a bolt of energy loosed from his fingertips. But the son proved faster, diving to the side. He climbed to his feet, sword in hand, and screamed. He barely felt himself move, never registered the bolt that would strike him in the shoulder. He felt the distance close. He saw the sudden panic in the killer's eyes.

And finally, he felt the blade dig deep into his father's flesh. He felt the warm blood cascade on his hands, his father's blood on his hands. The killer gasped, and fell to his knees.

"Father!" the son cried, steadying his father's descent, and gently laying him on the floor.

"William..." the old man whispered. "Forgive me...I was not myself..."

"I'll go for help." William said. "Stay here, father, and stay awake, let me go-"

Teao grabbed his son's arm. "No! No, please...stay with me..."

William moved back next to his father. "Al-alright." he choked, knowing what was to come.

Teao grabbed the ring off of his index finger, and placed it in William's hand. "Take the ring..." he coughed. "Destroy it! Don't let her find it..." Teao coughed hard again. "Don't let her find the Deadlock..."

As his father went silent, William could feel the stinging in his shoulder.

*****

Bill jolted awake in a cold sweat. He glanced around his small room, his eyes eventually resting on the small gold and ruby ring sitting on his desk. He sighed, placing his face in his hands.

"Wonderful. Another sleepless night for me." he muttered, swinging himself out of bed. The nightmares had been coming more frequently, and each night for the past week, Bill had been unable to find a good night's rest. So, he spent his "nights" roaming the Twilight Keep, sometimes going to the archives and reading, but often just exploring and thinking. The dreams weighed heavily on his mind, and Teao's words still rang in his ears: "Don't let her find it..." What had he meant?

As he began his nightly trek, he stopped when he heard the soft creaking of a door.

"Having trouble sleeping?" Arata asked, stepping out of the doorway. He was dressed in his nightshirt, and his azure hair was frazzled and matted in some areas.

"Sorry if I woke you." Bill said.

Arata shook his head. "No, you're fine. I wasn't sleeping very well either. Mind if I join you?"

"Sure."

Arata quietly closed the door behind him, then walked next to Bill. The two walked quietly through the halls, until they reached the Keep's largest balcony.

"Is this where you've been coming lately?" Arata asked, gazing out on the Twilit plains.

Bill shook his head. "Nah. I've been wandering all over the keep. I just can't sleep..."

Bill looked to Arata, who was gazing at the lake. "How long has it been?"

Arata sighed. "Eight months tomorrow...but gods, it feels like just yesterday..." Arata blew another sigh. "I miss him. I miss him so much."

Bill patted Arata on the back.

"It's not easy, I know." Bill said. "But the pain will pass in time. I'm sure Alastor would be proud of what we've accomplished. Of what you accomplished."

Arata smiled slightly. "I'm sure he would."

The two were silent for a moment. Eight months ago, Arata's brother Alastor had been murdered by a monstrous entity called "Fuketa". Ultimately, Fuketa had been killed and the plot to create a Chaos Realm had been foiled, but Arata still felt the loss of his brother.

After a few moments, Arata straightened up. "Well," he said, forcing a laugh. "You know why I'm sleeping so poorly now. So, what's your excuse?"

Bill shook his head and gave a light chuckle. "I keep having this dream..." he began, his face becoming serious. "It's when I...the day my father died. I keep reliving it."

"I'm sorry." Arata said.

"I hold him in my arms, and then he says 'Don't let her find the Deadlock'. Then I wake up." Bill shook his head. "It's maddening. I don't know what that means, I didn't know twelve years ago and I still don't today!" Bill put his face in his hands again. "It's been a recurring dream for the last week...I just can't sleep..."

"Maybe you need to take it easy for now?" Arata offered. "We have been under a lot of stress lately, what with the Chaos war going on. Maybe you just need to take a day for yourself?"

Now Bill blew a sigh. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

The two were silent for a few minutes, before Arata decided to head back to bed. As Bill stood on the balcony, Teao's words continued to hang in his mind. Bill reached up and touched his left shoulder, and the scar that was hidden beneath his nightshirt.

What did it all mean?

Nice tie-in! So Poison will now begin from the end of Arata's Chronicles....I think this chronology will probably make the most sense. Can't wait to see what else you do with it! Next chapter!

Bill had returned to bed shortly after Arata, though he found no rest waiting for him. Again, the same dream haunted his mind, as did the same phrase: “Don’t let her find the Deadlock”. He still couldn’t figure what Teao had meant by that. For that matter he couldn’t figure out why it was so important to him. As Bill forced himself up from his bed, he replayed the memory in his mind. Maybe it meant nothing…perhaps it was the final ravings of a dying madman?
Bill angrily shook the thought away. “Teao wasn’t crazy.” He muttered, rubbing his bruised eyes. He turned to the ornate ring resting on his nightstand. “He wasn’t crazy.”
The grizzled warrior finished climbing out of bed and began to prepare for the day. He dressed himself in a simple white tunic and equally simple black pants. Once he placed the belt around his waist, he grabbed his trusted sword Mandurugo and fastened the sheath to his hip. Finally, he turned to the nightstand, and hesitantly picked up the ring. Bill took a moment to examine the cursed object. Despite being an artifact of the Lady of Chaos, the ring’s design was immaculate. It appeared to be made of finely cut ruby, and was plated in gold. Along the sides of the ring, the black etchings of Talona marred what would have been considered a ring worthy of royalty. He steeled his mind, and slid the ring onto his finger.
Almost immediately a series of images, smells, and sounds assaulted Bill’s mind, attempting to overwhelm the warrior’s consciousness. But the warrior had played this game many times before. Bill focused his mind on a single memory, a memory of his father, and the voices, slowly but surely, began to quiet. Once the voices had gone, Bill looked to the ring, and forced a smile. “I win again, Talona.” The ring began to softly glow in response, almost as if saying “This time.”
Truthfully, Bill was more than a little worried by the artifact. Ever since the brush with Fuketa and the Chaos Realm eight months earlier, the ring had been more active and the assaults on his mind had been fiercer. Bill was more than convinced that his recent nightmares had been brought on by the ring’s dark power.
But with the ring’s power quieted (for now), Bill began to make his way to the Twilight Throne, where Emperor Steel would brief the Twilight Knights on developments in the ongoing “Chaos War”. Perhaps “war” was too strong of a word. When the Chaos Realm had been created, smaller rips in the fabric of space had enabled chaos monsters to invade the kingdom, though the Twilight Knights had been able to sweep the monsters aside. With nothing left to really fight, Bill had once jokingly suggested that they call it a “Chaos Wait-and-See”, only to be shot down by the combined glares of Xavier and Rayzer. Bill had thought it was funny, though.

As Bill approached the large throne room door, he could see the broad shouldered figure of Azkir leaning next to the decorative portal. Although he was dressed as plainly as Bill, Bill knew that it was very likely that the assassin had an arsenal hidden all over his person.
The assassin grinned as Bill approached, raising a hand in causal greeting. “Sleep well?” Azk asked, giving Bill a pat on the back.
Bill shrugged. “Well enough, I s’pose.” He lied.
“Everyone’s gathered inside.” Azk said, turning to the door. “Figured I’d wait for stragglers.”
Bill grinned. “Ah, how kind. Jackass.”
Azk laughed. “You know me, Bill. All heart.” The assassin placed his hand on the door and pushed, the large wooden door taking some effort to open. As the door swung wide, a myriad of colors greeted the assassin and warrior. The braziers that hung along the walls slowly shifted colors, changing from orange, to red, to green and so on. The ceilings and walls were decorated with elegant tapestries, adorned with the moon-and-sun symbol of the Twilight Knights. At the far end of the hall sat the throne, and even from the throne room’s doorway, Bill could marvel at its craftsmanship. Most of the throne seemed to be comprised of pearly white moonstone, and it was sculpted in such a way that the throne seemed to curve out of the wall.
In front of the throne, Bill could see the other Knights talking amongst themselves. As Bill and Azk stepped inside, Bill counted all the Twilight Knights except for Steel. There was Arata and Leyla, talking softly to each other. Xavier and Rayzer seemed to be in a deep discussion, and judging from Xavier’s hand movements, it was probably something about magical theory. Frozen Fighter stood off from the group, gazing out at the Twilit Fields from one of the throne room’s large windows. Finally, Slayer, Steel’s closest friend, was standing in front of the throne, marveling at its beauty.
Frozen looked away from the window to the two approaching knights. “Well, looks like we’re all here…’cept for Steel, it seems.”
As Bill and Azk approached, the rest of the knights turned to greet them…except for Rayzer and Xavier.
“…I just think that if we had enough time and the right equipment, we might be able to…” Xavier whispered. “I understand, Xavier.” Rayzer said. “But I’ll not have you experimenting with chaos magic in the Twilight. Tests like that need to be appropriately contained.”

As soon as Rayzer finished, the door to the throne room swung wide open, revealing Steel Fire, clad in his gold and onyx armor, and his shadow Finrod, in his wolf form. As he strode towards the throne, the knights quickly parted to the sides, allowing their emperor to pass to his throne. As he sat, he looked at each of his knights. “I hope everyone is rested,” Steel started. “Because we have a long road ahead of us.” Steel looked to Rayzer. “Do you have any more information regarding these chaos beasts?”
Rayzer nodded and stepped forward. “The beasts are created from the residue left from the Chaos Realm. Upon the realm’s destruction, small rips between the Chaos Realm and the Material Plane occurred, which allowed this raw chaos energy to seep into our world.”
“This we already know.” Frozen said.
“Anything else?” Steel asked.
Rayzer nodded. “My apprentice, Selena, has been collecting information on these chaos creatures from her camp in Faith’s Edge. According to her notes, the creatures seem to feed off this residue, which enables them to grow in power. The…chaotic nature of this residue has also allowed animation of inanimate objects.”
“Well, then how do we stop this…residue?” Arata asked.
“That’s the thing,” Rayzer continued. “These creatures appear to, as Selena put it, ‘burn out’ after a while.”
Bill scratched his beard. “They’re just dropping dead?”
“Yes.” Rayzer answered. “I believe that the chaos power they are taking into their body is too much for these animals to handle. Clearly, we’ll still be needed to take them down so they don’t spread more panic, but in a way, we’ve won already.”
“And the residue?” Arata asked again.
“That will require some Harmony based magic to eradicate. However, thanks to Selena’s research, I theorize that the residue will destroy itself, if given enough time.”
Steel chuckled. “Given enough time, this chaos residue could create a whole new nightmare for the kingdom of Skypoint. I want this taken care of immediately.”
Rayzer turned to Steel with a grin. “We can start right away.”
As Bill and the others began to file out of the throne room, the warrior suddenly staggered. Another series of images and sounds attacked his mind, the white noise threatening to overshadow Bill’s thoughts. Bill focused on the memory again. The white noise lasted a while longer before fading from Bill’s mind. Arata steadied Bill, hoisting him back to his feet. “Are you alright, Bill?” Arata asked.
Bill forced a smile. “Just…didn’t get enough sleep last night, you know?” He waved Arata away. “Go on, I’ll catch up.” Arata paused for a moment, looking Bill over. Once he was satisfied, he left. Bill glanced at the ring. It wasn’t the mental attack that really took him off guard. It was what the ring had said:

I will not be denied.

woot! Moar!

Chapter 3
Over the next few days, Bill’s fear over the ring’s latest message began to gradually subside. His work (and the work of the other Twilight Knights, of course) kept him (and the others) busy. In truth, Bill was grateful to have a chance to take his mind off of the cursed object, and the chaotic monsters that were now hiding across the kingdom of Skypoint provided ample opportunity to do so. Reports of strange creatures near towns, forests, and roads had ensured that the Twilight Knights were constantly on the move.
“Rise and shine, Bill.” Leyla’s soft voice roused Bill from his sleep. “We’ve received another message from Steel. Chaos is on the move again.”
Bill groaned, and pulled himself under his bedroll. He, Arata, and Leyla had been sent south of Skypoint to the marshes of Greywood, a rather foreboding place that had one small town within its borders. The marsh had a reputation of being haunted, and residents of the small village of the same name often claimed they could see lights in the waters at night, or mysterious figures stalking through the fog. When the town of Greywood initially called for Steel’s aid, they had asked of him to send a platoon of men to the town to rid the area of chaotic beasts and “other malicious entities”. When the residents of Greywood had learned that only three knights would be sent instead, their reaction was less than thrilled.
Nonetheless, Bill, Arata, and Leyla performed admirably, hunting down and slaying the wolves who were marked with the taint of corruption. With their jobs completed, the three knights began to make their way slowly back to the civilized world, as the citizens of Skypoint would have said. Moving through the marsh was slow going, and when the sun disappeared behind the trees, Bill wisely suggested they make camp for the night.
“Come on, Bill!” Arata said, giving Bill’s bedroll a light kick. Bill grumbled in response. The blue haired duelist shrugged and moved back to the fire. “Suit yourself. More breakfast for me and Leyla, then.”
Bill blew out a sigh and sat up, the chilled morning air causing him to flinch slightly. “What’s for breakfast?” he asked, moving closer to the fire. Arata grabbed his pack and tossed Bill a small loaf of bread. “There’s also some fish on the fire for you.” Arata said, beginning to repack his bedroll. The warrior grabbed the cooked fish and gingerly took a bite.
* * * *
Though the swamp fish had left an odd taste in Bill’s mouth, the three were in high spirits as they finally put the Greywood Marshes behind them and were once again on the familiar road to Skypoint. According to the message Leyla had received, more corrupted creatures had been spotted near the Scar, not too far from the boughs of the Jade Forest, where the elves made their homes. From Greywood, it was about three days hike to the Jade Forest. The three friends traded stories of their previous adventures to pass the time (but because Arata had only been on one adventure, and that adventure had included Bill and Leyla, he instead told hunting stories and legends from his days living in Arcterra. Leyla, on the other hand, told them funny stories from her youth growing up in the seaside town of Sayle). Bill was happy to share some of his old stories, telling them with all the dramatic flair he had learned from Theo as a child.
“Durn was quick, though not quick enough.” Bill said, stepping over a large rock on the road. “The banshee’s wail caught him in full force, throwing him to the ground in a crumpled heap! Had we not covered our ears with wax I believe that Durn would have died that day.”
“So what happened, then?” Leyla asked, turning around and walking backwards.
“Well, despite Durn’s little throwdown, the plan actually went off without a hitch. That crazed orc had bought me enough time to circle around the witches’ nest and take her down from behind! Once we banished the spirit, and once Durn was back on his feet, we claimed her treasure hoard for ourselves.”
“I thought orcs were savage creatures that despised men and elves?” Arata asked.
“Usually, you’d be correct, but Durn was a special orc.” Bill said. “He was as smart as a whip and strong as an ox. We actually traveled together for a while longer before we parted ways.” Bill looked out to the rolling green hills of the countryside. “I haven’t seen him in years…”

And so they traveled, only stopping to rest or to fight off the occasional dog-faced Kobold (nasty little imps with no love for road weary travelers). As the three knights sat around their campfire on the second night, Arata turned his gaze east towards the Agoran Mountains. Though the mountains were only softly illuminated by the moon, the duelist could swear that one of the mountains was moving.
“Where?!” Leyla asked, jumping up to her feet and peering out into the darkness.
“Just there.” Arata pointed off into the dark. Sure enough, if one could look close enough, a rather large shadow could be seen moving between the rocky slopes of the mountains. “What do you make of that?”

Bill stood up, and allowed his Myst to envelop him. The warrior blinked, and suddenly his violet orbs changed into a striking crimson. Looking out upon the darkness with his infravision, Bill could clearly see the mountainous entity staring back at them from the dark.

“Well, I’ll be damned…” the warrior whispered. “A stone giant.”

As a child, Bill had read many of the old stories concerning these mythic and majestic creatures. Natural colossi, most stone giants stood as tall as the mountains themselves, with rocky skin and mossy hair to boot. Despite their unbelievable size, the stone giants (or mountain giants, if you prefer) were shy, peaceful creatures. Preferring to conceal themselves from human and elven eyes alike, to spot one was considered a sign of great luck. And to speak to one of these colossi was considered a high and rare honor. If you were able to impress a stone giant, it might reward you with some of its ancient wisdom.
The mood in the camp changed immediately from trepidation to excitement. “What’s it doing here, I wonder?” Arata thought aloud. “Is it still just looking at us?”
Bill squinted. “I think so…”
Leyla squealed in excitement. “I can’t believe it!” she exclaimed. “How many others have seen what we’re seeing right now? This is so exciting!”
The colossus stared at the three for a moment longer before turning and lumbering off between the mountains.
****
Once the excitement of spotting a mountain giant had worn off, fatigue set in, and it wasn’t long before the three traveling knights were asleep in their bedrolls. When the morning came, Bill, Arata, and Leyla quickly packed their things and made for an early start. While their spirits had been high when they left Greywood, the sight of the mountain giant had renewed their vigor. They resumed their road, and in a few short hours they could make out the boughs of the Jade Forest on the horizon, and could see the Scar before them.
The Scar was a small knoll that had once been the sight of a large battle between the forces of Men and Elves long ago. The battle had been so fierce, and had used such destructive magic that much of the earth, to this day, remained blackened. The only vegetation that seemed to thrive here were small shrubs that barely rose above the ankles.

The Scar had an odd reverence about it. Birds and other chattering creatures fell silent near the hill, so that only the low howl of the wind could be heard rustling across the plains. As the three companions approached, Arata looked to Leyla with concern. Leyla’s Myst abilities enabled her to communicate with plant life, and Arata was worried that the plants here would share mournful tales indeed. But Leyla showed no sign of distress (even if she could hear the sad whisperings of the many plants around her), and the three continued onward, ever vigilant for any sign of chaos.
After a few minutes of searching, the knights were thoroughly puzzled. Steel’s letter had said the Scar, had it not?

“Are you sure we were supposed to come here?” Bill asked, glancing around.
“I’m positive.” Leyla said, reaching into her traveling cloak and producing the letter Steel had sent. “Look,” she pointed to a passage in the letter. “’Head to the Scar. The Elves of the Jade Forest have seen hostile creatures moving around the knoll at dusk.’ We’re at the right place, Bill.”
Arata gave a small laugh. “We’re early, then!” Bill and Leyla looked to Arata. “Well, it says right in the letter.” Arata continued. “These creatures have been seen around dusk, right? So, we just wait for them until then.” Bill looked back to the letter, then gave a slightly embarrassed “Ah” in reply.
So the hours passed rather uneventfully, until the sun began to dip behind the horizon, bathing the ancient battlefield in a soft orange-red glow. As the sun began to disappear more fully, a low rumbling could be heard on the opposite side of the hill. The three knights scrambled over the top, and were not quite prepared for what they saw.

Two Hill Giants were slowly lumbering towards the Scar. Now, Hill Giants were not at all like Mountain Giants. Mountain Giants were very large creatures, shy but wise with ancient knowledge. Hill Giants were more brutish, and were actually quite small when compared to their larger cousins (standing around eleven feet tall). They possessed fair skin, long dark hair and beards that seemed to cover most of their faces. If their size and bedraggled appearances weren’t enough to scare most travelers off, then their weapons (which appeared to be large tree trunks) usually were. These particular giants seemed to have a number of Elven arrow shafts sticking out of them, and had scars all along their legs (no doubt from the curved blades of the Wood Elves).

“Hill Giants!” Bill whispered, crouching low, and beckoning Leyla and Arata to do the same. One of the giants turned to the other and muttered something in their guttural language, though the other one just snorted and kept walking.
“How do you want to do this, then?” Leyla asked.
Bill and Arata looked to each other. They had fought hill giants before, but never two of them at once. “It might be better if we draw them off and fought them one at a time.” Bill said.
“How?” Arata asked. “If one sees us, the other will come along. Unless you mean to…”
“Fight them one on one.” Bill finished.
“That’s crazy!” Leyla interjected. “Do you really think you’d be able to kill these things by yourselves?”
“We aren’t by ourselves, though.” Arata said, winking at Leyla.
“Leyla, use the plants and provide support when you can.” Bill instructed. “Trip them up, confuse them, but just make sure they don’t land a killing blow.”
Leyla looked like she was about to object, but stopped. “I’m always support.” She grumbled.
Suddenly a shout went up from the giants. The knights turned to see one of the giants pointing a finger in their direction. The other giant lifted its club above its head and waved it menacingly.

“Let’s go!” Arata cried, unsheathing his trusted blade, Hokkyoku. The duelist dashed toward the giant closest to the knoll (the one pointing a finger at them) and gripped Hokkyoku tightly with both hands. As he neared the behemoth, Arata dropped his blade low and swung upwards, catching the unlucky creature in the shin. The giant howled at the duelist, swinging its club upward and smashing it down with a mighty crash. Arata leapt and rolled, just barely dodging the earth shaking blow.

As Arata began his attack, Bill began his. The warrior unsheathed his crimson sword Mandurugo and ran at the other giant. This giant, however, was not caught unprepared. As Bill neared, the behemoth brought its club down, nearly braining the grizzled warrior. Bill jumped back not a moment too soon, and stumbled as the club smashed into the ground. The giant quickly lifted a foot and kicked the dazed warrior to the ground, forcing the air from Bill’s lungs.

While the battle was beginning to rage, Leyla focused her Myst and began to speak to the plants, commanding and contorting them to her needs. The giant that had pinned Bill was suddenly surprised, as a shrub had sprung up and had grabbed its foot. The creature smashed the shrub with its club, both out of anger (for hill giants were an easily angered folk) and fear (for hill giants didn’t understand magic as you or I do). Bill hopped up off the ground and brought Mandurugo around, slashing the giant’s raised foot, and severing some toes at the same time.

Arata’s giant turned as soon as it had heard it’s partner cry out. It shouted something in it’s language, and suddenly swung it’s club in an upward arc. Arata barely had enough time to block the ferocious strike, which knocked Hokkyoku from his hands and sent him sprawling. Leyla shifted her attention to Arata, commanding the plants to stop the giant’s advance. Roots shot out of the ground, stabbing and stinging the giant’s large feet. But the creature, angered at the injury of its partner, roared. While smashing the roots, the giant noticed a small figure standing on the hillside. The giant was not a learned creature by any means, but it had fought wizards before, and it recognized Leyla’s hand movements as such. Grabbing a nearby rock, the giant roared once more and hurled the stone with all of it’s strength.
Leyla jumped out of the way, but in doing so broke her concentration. The plants suddenly fell, no longer hindering the approaching behemoth.

As Bill slashed and dodged against the hardy creature, he turned to see Arata attempting to scramble away from the giant. Bill jumped to the side, just narrowly dodging another swing. Suddenly, Bill’s giant broke off and began to walk towards it’s partner…and Arata.
“Hey!” Bill shouted. “Hey!! Come back here!” Bill ran at the creature, and took another swipe at it’s legs. The giant growled in fury, and in a movement faster than Bill had anticipated, the giant slapped the warrior away. Bill slowly rose to his feet. The giants, it seemed, had decided that these two humans were too pesky to kill by themselves. They began to circle Arata menacingly.

“No!” Bill cried. “Arata!”
Suddenly, a wave of sensations flooded Bill’s mind. “Not now!” Bill shouted through gritted teeth. “Not now!!!”
Strangely, the white noise gave way to one solitary voice. The warrior could easily recognize the voice of the ring, though it was a voice Bill had seldom spoken to.

Let me in.

“Talona…” Bill whispered. “No…”

I can help you, William.

Bill growled. The giants had encircled Arata, who held Hokkyoku bravely.

They will kill him. And once they have, they will collect his head as a trophy. I can stop them. I can help you. LET ME IN.

The giant raised it’s club high and roared in victory. “All right!” Bill shouted, cursing himself. “All right…”
The warrior dropped his mental barriers, allowing the white noise to flood his mind. He felt like his ears were about to explode. He felt his eyes suddenly go blind. A thousand voices and images assailed Bill’s psyche, the pain increasing alongside the noise.

Then, all of the sudden, silence.
Bill could see again. He could hear again. And he saw the giant, club poised above its head.

Raise your hand towards the giant, and I will show you the power of Chaos!

Bill obeyed, and as he did, a low whistling noise suddenly filled his ears. The giant seemed to hear it as well, as it began to slap it’s ears in pain. Suddenly, the creature spun it’s club around, smashing it into its partner’s skull, and causing it to fall dead. Arata, confused but not without sense, saw his opportunity and slashed at the traitorous giant, felling it. As it plummeted, the duelist jumped on top of it, and plunged Hokkyoku into it’s heart.
“What…just happened?” Arata panted, looking towards Bill.
Bill just shook his head and looked to his hand, to the ring that rested on his finger.

Awesome, an update. :D