The Innkeeper

"Surprise, surprise," said Lex, his voice tinged with sarcasm as he watched the broken and battered body on the floor. "A trap. Who could have seen that coming?"

Everything about Lex, from his posture, to his tone of voice and his words spoke of the fact that he was displaying a very cavalier attitude - as if he did not take his current situation as a threat at all.

The truth was the exact opposite. Lex had, in fact, spread out all his spirit and soul sense the moment he felt something odd about Ra's body. But while he heard Ra screaming, he could not detect the deity.

Unless he found Ra, there was nothing he could do to him. So, the best solution he had was to bait him.

The two of them already had animosity, and based on his experience, Lex judged that Ra was either not in his best state mentally, or he was just a very careless deity. Either way, aggravating him was the best way of luring him out.

"THINGS ARE DIFFERENT NOW, VERMIN! YOU WILL NOT CATCH ME UNPREPARED AGAIN! I CONTROL THE CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH! YOU WILL SUFFER FOR ETERNITY!"

"An eternity of torture is much preferred to hearing you moan," Lex said, surveying his surroundings. Even his left eye was active, yet he could not locate him.

"PATHETIC WORM, KNEEL!"

The nauseating, corrupt aura that had been emanating from Ra's body crashed down on Lex. Lex was… almost amused. Was Ra trying to use aura to pressure him?

"That's cute," Lex said, smirking.

Before he could continue taunting Ra, Fenrir growled. Yet it was no ordinary growl, as it was laced with some kind of power.

Their surroundings rippled, and then changed. The glamorous yet damaged hall they were in changed, and was replaced into what looked like destroyed ruins. There were no lights on around them, no walls or doors. Everything had been destroyed and cleared out.

In the darkness, Lex saw the vague outline of Ra, and behind him stood hundreds of suits of armor, each reeking of corrupted divinity. But that was far from all. Twisted, tainted figures stood in the dark, vaguely resembling Ra's original form. The resemblance was vague because while Ra originally looked befitting a deity, these creatures looked like tormented souls dragged from the deepest hells.

They were misshapen and horrid, with many unusual joints, decayed feathers and an aura that was even more corrupt than Ra himself.

"Ra, I think you've been hanging out with the wrong crowd," Lex said as he summoned his sword. The situation did not look good. There must be hundreds of corrupted armors behind him. How could Ra achieve this while hiding it from Cassandra?

Lex did not believe that he could, which only meant that she had been lying to him, or hiding information from him. Lex was not surprised. He was incredibly wary of anyone who wanted to give him rewards and gifts at no charge - that was the primary reason he could never bring himself to trust the system.

Even if deep down, he felt that he should trust Mateo and Cassandra, Lex just could not. After all, if his parents could keep secrets from him, why couldn't others?

But even so, there was a reason he played along with everything. Even now, Lex did not feel like he was losing control of the situation. If the worst comes to worst, he could just abandon the temple and run. But for that he would have to rescue Z first.

But all of those things would only matter if the situation went out of control. For now, Lex did not feel like it had reached that point. As for whether Cassandra and Mateo had been hiding things from him, he could always question them later.

The corrupted deity did not seem as affected by Lex's words as he had assumed. Now that the reality of the situation had been uncovered by Fenrir, instead of bellowing at him in anger, the deity stood at the forefront of his small army, and looked down on Lex with a demeaning grin.

"I bet you're pretty mad, huh, Ra?" Lex said, gathering his own aura as he prepared for the upcoming fight. "Guess what? Half the reason I put up with so much stuff for so long… is because I'm not completely satisfied either. For plotting against the Inn, how could I let you off so easily?"

Even though currently Lex was only a foot large, the pressure he was giving off was nothing short of gargantuan. Notorious Anonymity covered his face and Domination spread out across the floor.

Lex did not leap forward. He did not run or charge either. Step by step, he began to approach Ra, his momentum rising as he approached. Behind him a vague image appeared momentarily, but it dispersed too quickly and no one could tell what it was.

But no one was looking behind him to begin with. Short though he might be, the bloodlust Lex was giving off was not little. He had been biding and suppressing his remaining anger in his mind for too long. Now, he finally let it all out.

"Kill him," Ra commanded, undeterred by the display. As a deity, what kind of warrior had he not already seen? In his long life, Lex would not even be worthy of being remembered.

The corrupted creatures and suits of armor charged forth, spreading their corruption like a tumor.

Ra did not know what this place was, though he felt like he should. It was almost as if the memory of this place had been forcibly stripped from his mind. But no matter, he had recovered tremendously, and regained some of his authorities. With the authority of creation at his disposal, what did he have to fear?

His minions finally reached Lex, but a single swipe of his intent- covered sword was enough to push them back.

The fight between Ra, the ruler of heavens and the bringer of light, and the Invincible Tyrant had begun.

Suddenly, Ra'sfigure felt teeth sink into its neck, and a wolf pup appeared out of nowhere!