The Venom

Final Rest

      Tiger felt the power flowing through his body, and looked at Devon's corpse. Tiger grabbed the Dragon Sword, and sheathed it slowly. Tiger felt a presence behind him, and he turned to see an Elder God standing behind him. "Who are you?" Tiger asked, with his hand on the Dragon Sword. "I am an Elder God from the council of Acention." The Elder God said. "Why are you here?" Tiger asked. "To bring you to Acention so you can fulfill your duties as a god of Earthrealm. Tiger's eyes widened. "No. I can't." Tiger said, backing away as he looked at his hands. "This isn't what I wanted." Tiger said with anger in his tone. "You don't want to achieve godly power?" The Elder God asked. "No, not that at all. I'm not going to swear myself to eradicate all life in this realm. I won't let another iteration reset." Tiger said. "But that's us Elder Gods maintain our immortality." The Elder God said. 

        Tiger looked at the Elder God angrily. "I said no!" Tiger yelled. The Elder God seemed surprised. "You don't want to protect Earthrealm? You'll just stay an ordinary man with extraordinary powers?" The Elder God asked in disbelief. "I'll protect Earthrealm on my own terms, but I want out of dealing with gods like you." Tiger said. "If that's what you want, so be it." The Elder God said, before undoing his cloak to reveal his combat robes. The Elder God unsheathed his sword, and two more Elder Gods appeared in a flash of lightning. "What are you doing?" Tiger yelled, unsheathing his sword. "Taking your powers away. If you won't commit, then someone else will!" The Elder God yelled, before rushing at Tiger. 

       Tiger struck one of the Elder Gods with a bolt of lightning, and dodged the attacks from the other two. Tiger blocked the attack from an Elder God, and kicked the other in the stomach. Tiger thrust the Dragon Sword at the first Elder God, but he just flashed away. "I will never submit!" Tiger yelled, as the Elder Gods surrounded him. Tiger flashed away from the Elder Gods, and Tiger charged his energy. Tiger summoned a giant eagle, a large bear, and a menacing wolf. The animals Tiger summoned were transparent, and gave off a yellow glow. The eagle attacked one of the gods, diving down from the sky, clawing him with its talons. The bear slammed its paws into another god, and the wolf bit the third god in the leg. 

      Tiger morphed into the white tiger, and looked at the battle. Tiger's attention was drawn to the treeline, where several apparitions stood, staring at Tiger. Tiger felt odd, but continued to fight. Tiger pounced on one of the gods and assisted the eagle by clawing the god across the chest. The god knocked Tiger off of him, and the eagle absorbed itself into Tiger. Tiger morphed into a giant eagle and knocked the god down with a flap of his wings. The bear and the wolf absorbed into Tiger as well. Tiger returned to his human form, as more animals were summoned. A panther was summoned, and a wolf was summoned. These two animals didn't absorb into Tiger, but assisted him in combat. 

       Tiger morphed into the eagle, flying towards one of the gods at high speed. Tiger morphed back to his human form, kicking the god in the chest. The panther and wolf distracted the other two gods. Tiger swung the Dragon Sword at the god, and the god dodged each attack. Tiger struck the god with lightning, knocking him back. Tiger jumped onto the god, and raised his sword, angling the tip of the blade down. Tiger stabbed the god through the chest, and Tiger looked to see the panther was being attacked. Tiger jumped into a blaze of hellfire, and the hellfire moved across the ground towards the god. Tiger leaped from the hellfire, slashing the god across the back, and stabbed him through the back. The god let out a groan, and Tiger kicked him off of the blade. 

     Tiger and the panther rushed to the final god to help the wolf. Tiger morphed into the white tiger, and the panther and the wolf brought the god to the ground, as Tiger lifted a paw, and slashed his claws across the god's chest. Tiger morphed back to his human form, and raised the Dragon Sword. "I'm done with fighting gods." Tiger said, before stabbing the sword through the god's chest. Tiger ripped the blade back out, and looked at the bodies of the gods as they disintegrated into nothing. "Just let me go." Tiger muttered to himself. 

     Tiger looked at the apparitions of the panther and the wolf, as they began to morph. Tiger was shocked to see the apparitions of Panther and Wolf were standing in front of him. "Panther? Wolf?" Tiger asked in disbelief. "Yes brother." Panther said. "Wolf, what happened to you? What of the tribe?" Tiger asked. "I'm sorry, Tiger. The tribe was attacked by the Insurrection shortly after you had left us. We were outnumbered, and vastly outmatched." Wolf said. Tiger felt pain in his chest, and took a deep breath. "More innocent people die. When will it end?" Tiger asked. "Keep your head up, brother. Never lose sight of victory." Panther said. "But I killed you! I don't see that as a victory." Tiger said, looking at Panther. "You didn't kill me. You had no other choice. You did what was right." Panther said, comfortingly. "But I had to lose a brother to do what was right." Tiger said in a pained tone. "Some consequences come with all decisions, but don't let it change what you believe is right." Panther said. 

     Tiger fell to his knees, and dropped his sword. Tiger slammed his fist into the dirt. "If I could've save you..." Tiger said before trailing off into his own thoughts. "No need to be hard on yourself." Wolf said. "I know, but I can't help to think about how things could've been different." Tiger responded. "You dwell on your past. Think of the future. You killed Dante and Devon. The two gods that were corrupted by power, and could've let to the total annihilation of the people of Earthrealm." Panther said. Tiger remained silent, and Panther and Wolf looked at each other. "The others here." Wolf said. 

      Tiger looked back to see the apparitions of all of Tiger's allies that died in conflict. Six and Hayden stood next to each other with a smirk on their faces. Rayden, Lee, Charles, and Samson looked at Tiger with a vague sense of respect. Mother Bear looked at Tiger with pride, and two other tribe members were smiling at Tiger. Thomas and The Shaman were still wearing their prisoner outfits, showing that they never escaped from the prison camp. Tiger stood up, and regained his composure. "Everyone. I feel bad that you all had expired so soon, and I-" Tiger's words were cut off by Six. "Hold your words, boy. You have nothing to feel sorry for. Think of it like this, you saved the realm from annihilation. That's got to make up for something, right?" Six said reassuringly. "If that doesn't help, just know that you've allowed up to find peace in death when we couldn't find peace in life." Six continued. Tiger's mood lifted, and a shy smile stretched across his face. "Return to your friends. I'm sure they're missing you right about now." Hayden said. "Right. I'll go see them." Tiger said. At once the apparitions faded into nothing, and Tiger picked up the Dragon Sword. "I've got special plans for you." Tiger said.