~Chapter 6- Thrones of Gods~

As Corri flew over the sea with Rojo, the ocean's waves became more tempestuous and violent. The cursed barrier that loomed overhead was damaging their world.

She finally came to the island - a mountainous one located at the world's equator, far from any other landmark. She descended near the base of the island. There was a long trail of staircases leading up to the top.

Corri breathed hard; she could sense Ranuulo waiting for her at the top. A terrible resonance was being emitted by him, and it was telling her to run.

She jumped off her bird and began heading up the stairs. Usually, Rojo would fly off and circle her location from overhead, but her red sparrow lingered at her side, walking up the staircase with her.

"Rojo," Corri looked up at her bird and pointed towards the sky, "You have to go."

Rojo was unflinching. It even shook its beak 'no'. It knew that if it left Corri this time, it might never see her again. Corri put a hand under its beak and another on its head and held Rojo close.

"It's going to be okay, but I need you to go," She said as she caressed Rojo's head. She looked into the sparrow's eyes, and it seemed to understand. Rojo stepped back, extended its beautiful red wings, and pensively took to the sky.

Corri walked alone through the trail of staircases up the mountain. Along the path were many stone statues depicting the three deities. An Owl, a Tortoise, and a Ram, but most of them had been weathered away by time.

The resonance Ranuulo gave off became even stronger as she walked across the island. He must've known she was there.

She reached the top of the staircase and found a stone platform at the top of the mountain. There were two thrones. The one nearest to her had been trampled and destroyed. Across from her was another throne with a massive man sitting in it with the appearance of a Ranuulan.

Luminescent red eyes, ebon black limbs, with a pale white chest. He had red hair that could nearly be mistaken for fire and a jagged sword in one hand. The sword's length was greater than her entire body. It was the God, Ranuulo.

Ranuulo was grinding the tip of his sword into the ground, and he looked at her with a dissatisfied look. He eyed the golden gauntlets she wore.

"You... are the Goddess's Heir?" Ranuulo asked.

Corri said nothing.

Ranuulo gave a dejected look, "Disappointing. You don't compare to the magnificence that was Ralosia. But I commend your bravery for coming here."

Ranuulo stood from his throne, towering over Corri. He spoke, and his words seemed to permeate through Corri's mind, "People of the world, hear me. The heir to the goddess has appeared before me. Close your eyes, and you may see my sight."

Ranuulo was speaking to everyone in the world telepathically again. When Corri briefly closed her eyes, she saw his point of view of him staring down at her.

"I ask that all in this world witness her end. Everyone should see the last remnants of Ralosia disappear from the world," Ranuulo leveled his sword and pointed it at Corri, "Any last words, young one?"

All eyes in the world were on her. She said, "We don't have to do this. You could stop what you're doing and fix everything."

Ranuulo seemed to stop and think for a moment. But only for a moment. The next, he gripped his sword with both hands and readied himself.

Corri raised her fists. If she was going to die, she was going to fight with everything she had. Her eyes took on a determined look.

With a roar, Ranuulo lifted the sword over his head and brought it down towards Corri. She managed to sidestep the blade, but the earth cracked where it impacted, sending shards of stones and debris all around. Corri had trouble landing solidly on her feet.

She saw an opening at his side and went for it, lunging forward with her gauntlets, but Ranuulo swiftly maneuvered the sword to block. There was a glare in the God's eyes - he was angry that she dared to try and strike him.

Ranuulo came forward with the sword again. She wasn't swift enough to get out of the way so she used her gauntlets as a shield. When the sword struck the gauntlets, the ground around them crumbled, but Corri was unharmed. The gauntlets were protecting her.

Ranuulo came again and again, and she repeatedly used the gauntlets to protect her. The island they stood on eroded away with each strike.

Ranuulo flipped the sword in his hand and drove it into the ground, and the area beneath them combusted, bursting apart violently. Corri covered her eyes as the explosion blew her away.

Corri found herself beneath a mass of rubble and debris and forced it off of her. But when she looked up, she saw the red-eyed God glaring down at her. She backed up into a rocky wall. She didn't dare hesitate, jumping up and bashing him across the face.

He staggered back. With the gauntlets, it seemed it was possible to hurt him. But only barely.

Ranuulo came forward, prepared to lunge his sword through Corri. She wouldn't be able to avoid him at this range. She closed her eyes.

At least I went out fighting.

But a radiant red light rocketed from the side of Ranuulo and struck him, pushing the God ever so slightly off-center. He lunged the sword into the wall just beside Corri, narrowly missing her.

"His sword!" A familiar voice shouted out, the source of that Focus burst that saved her.

In that moment, Corri saw a perfect opening. She struck Ranuulo's wrist as hard as she could, and he released the sword. Ranuulo screamed out in agony and light rippled through his body. He desperately reached out for the sword again, but a figure came from beside her and struck Ranuulo, knocking him back just out of reach of his sword.

Corri looked up at the one who saved her. Her father, Razan.

"Dad?"

Razan glanced back at his daughter, "You doing alright, sweetheart?

Ranuulo roared out in pain and charged. But before he could reach them, purple bursts of light bombarded him from above, knocking him away once more.

Corri looked up and saw several crows circling above them. From them jumped Valr, Diva, and Vos, each of them bombarding Ranuulo with purple Focus Bursts.

Aero, Jirro, and Lucar jumped down from the birds and landed beside Corri.

Corri shouted, "You weren't supposed to follow me! He's too dangerous!"

Jirro looked at Corri, "He has a weakness! His power comes from his sword; we just need to keep him away from it!"

Aero smiled, "Just leave it to us!"

Aero, Jirro, Razan, and Lucar all turned and charged at Ranuulo. Corri looked and saw that Valr and Diva were peppering Ranuulo with Focus beams while Vos darted around him at incredible speeds landing quick strikes.

Ranuulo looked like he was in agony, not from any of their attacks, but from being separated from his sword. His concentration was strained, and it looked like his vision was wavering. Ranuulo focused just enough to land one light strike on Vos, more than enough to knock the man unconscious.

Ranuulo swung his arms, and fire radiated from him. Diva grabbed Vos from the ground before flying back with Valr away from the flames.

Before Ranuulo could center himself, Razan and Lucar came in strong, sending red and blue Focus Bursts at the God in unison. The force of their strikes was enough to knock him over.

Ranuulo got up to one knee. When Lucar charged at him, the God grabbed him by the throat and began to squeeze. Lucar coughed and gasped, and Razan struck Ranuulo repeatedly in the abs, to no effect.

Another surge of light rippled through Ranuulo's body, and he screamed out in pain once more. Out of frustration he threw Lucar into Razan before charging towards Corri. Towards his precious sword.

Aero and Jirro came forward and met the god head on. They moved in perfect rhythm with each other just as they did with Zantii. They avoided each of Ranuulo's lightning-fast attacks and countered with their own. But nothing they hit him with seemed to be doing any damage.

The others got back up and attacked Ranuulo simultaneously. With the unbearable pain the God seemed to be in, as well as their relentless teamwork, he seemed completely overwhelmed.

But it still wasn't enough.

Light rippled through Ranuulo again, and he screamed. The sheer force of his scream sent everyone flying across the island.

"He's still too strong..." Corri muttered. But then her eye drifted over to his sword, still embedded in the ground beside her.

It's worth a shot.

She gripped the hilt of the blade and pulled as hard as she could, but its weight felt infinite. She glanced back and saw Ranuulo charging across the destroyed island towards her.

But Razan jumped in his way.

Ranuulo brought his fists over his head and brought them down like a hammer on Razan, knocking him promptly to the ground and creating a crater at the epicenter of the attack.

"DAD!" Corri screamed as she tried to pry the sword from the ground.

But Razan rose with a kick to Ranuulo's chin, one which forced the God to stagger back. Razan stood in an unbalanced way as if he could drop at any moment.

"Not so tough anymore, are you, big guy?" Razan said with a smirk, trying to incite rage, "You're getting weaker."

Ranuulo's face was a mix of frustration and suffering. He picked up Razan by the neck and squeezed. Razan kicked at the God, who had an ever-present look of agony even as he choked the life out of him.

Corri pulled and pulled... and then, the sword suddenly became weightless in her hands, and she lifted it from the ground with ease. A gleam of light bounced off the blade, and she turned to Ranuulo.

The God's face was filled with terror at the sight. Corri came forward, and with a swift chop of his sword, she cleaved the hand which choked her father from Ranuulo's body. Razan coughed erratically as he fell to the ground, kicking the dismembered hand away from him.

Ranuulo looked at the stump of the arm he had in disbelief, silver-colored blood spilling from it. Another ripple of light surged through the God's body, and he lunged at Corri for the sword.

She swiped the sword and left deep cuts across his chest, following up with another attack. She severed an arm from his body by the shoulder.

Ranuulo screamed in pain again. He stomped the ground with his foot, and a wall of flames erupted from him.

Corri stood in front of her father and used the sword to protect them from the fire. She charged at Ranuulo one more time and plunged the sword deep into his chest. She drew the blade out of him, its surface coated in silver-blood.

Ranuulo fell to his knees, and his eyes became dull. He was shivering, and there was a dejected and shameful look on his face. He shook his head and looked at Corri.

He looked sad. But there was something else on his face as he looked at her. She almost wanted to call it 'hopeful'.

Ranuulo's body began to dematerialize, bit by bit of him becoming ash, swirled away into the wind until there was nothing left.

Their world began to change. When Corri looked up, the red and purple that dominated the sky began to dissipate, revealing a bright blue one hiding behind it. The barrier around their world fell away. Even the Lands of Ranuulo was free of the cursed barrier that had plagued it for nearly a thousand years.

The ocean's waters began to calm to nice and steady waves. A pleasant breeze swept across the island, gently blowing Corri's red hair to the side.

Rojo flew down from the sky and knocked Corri over. The sparrow affectionately nuzzled against the red-haired girl. Corri laid her head back on the ground, closed her eyes, and smiled.