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Agor'rath, a planet completely hidden in water, and a blanket of clouds that rippled across. No light would shine here, just the glow of the clouds as the four moons glowed in empty space. The Agor'rathians are amphibious, and the planet wasn't always covered in water, not completely anyways. They thrived as a species until the climate change had completely overwhelmed them and massive shelves of ice had melted. Luckily for them, they built underwater temples and cities to continue the advancement of their species. They were massive beasts with long claws at the end of each finger. They stood nearly eight feet tall on average, and had razor sharp teeth. Their skin covered in scales. They were the ideal predator. They had made that known, and that made them the most hired mercenaries in the galaxy.

Water droplets trickled down the walls of the temple and I stared at Fjorn for a moment.

"Two days to get to Nibiru?" I asked, still a little groggy for the last week and a half spent passed out.

"Yes boy. We need to go now if we want to make it." Fjorn said, as he gathered his things that were sprawled about.

"Why are we here and how the hell are you here?" I asked.

"I'll explain everything on the ship." Fjorn said.

I rose slowly, my midsection burned. I felt exhausted, even after all my rest. I was feeling a sense of failure for allowing my guard to drop for this horseman to have cursed me. I put on my clothes and jerked at every muscle movement. I felt bruised all over and I felt hungry yet no desire to eat.

We walked down the halls of the temple and saw Marie speaking with an Agor'rathian female.

"Look who's finally up and walking around." Marie said with a grin on her face.

Her usually monotone demeanor seemed to have change over the week and a half.

"This is Ak'shun, she is a healer of the Agor'rathians. She saved your life." Marie said and nodded towards the Agor'rathian female.

"I owe you much thanks. However I can repay you." I said.

"There's no need. I know of which you face. I felt the evil energy that your body contained from that plague. If you are protecting us all from those things, I would be happy to be of assistance. Now if you will excuse me, I must take leave." Ak'Shun said as she gracefully departed. The healers seemed to not have the barbaric personalities of the warriors. Their species seemed dull to me before now. I see they are just as unique as everyone else.

"Well, I guess we need to hurry to the ship and get the hell out of here huh?" Fjorn said with some sense of hurriedness.

Marie and I nodded and I followed Marie towards a large circular door. It rolled to the side and gained us entry to a large bay, littered with Agor'rathian ships. Ours was on the far end. We walked towards it and got several glances from the mechanics working on various things. The ships door hissed and descended allowing us entry.

Marie and Fjorn walked to the cockpit and began doing preflight checks. I simply set my stuff down and fell into a seat.

"Prepare for takeoff." The ships AI called.

In the hanger, there was a waterfall. It departed and showed a long tube that lead upwards. Our ship began to accelerate towards it. We shot through the tube and out of an opening in the planets ocean. We pierced through the thick clouds and into orbit.

"Set course for this coordinates." Marie said.

"Acknowledged. Following coordinates to unknown location." The ships AI called back.

Marie and Fjorn joined me in the cabin of the ship and sat down.

"So, please explain." I said.

"Let me tell the glorious story Marie." Fjorn said. She smiled and just nodded, lifting her hands indicating, go ahead.

"When you left me on the Forge, it took no time at all for that pesky neighbor to name me an accomplice. I was distraught. I legit believed what every gnome and dwarf believed. You murdered the founding father of the Forge in cold blood. I swore to never speak to you again swordsman. Then I was sent to Olympus for my crimes." Fjorn was about to continue, but I interrupted.

"Did you see Helsing?" I asked.

"Only before he went into the arena. But, he made things very clear to me what had happened. He broke it all down, and I realized you are not the monster they made you out to be. Then he said something about me having a drinking problem, that's where I drew the line and was hesitant to believe his previous statements. Anyways, Marie here, showed up and blew a hole in the prison. She shapeshifted into some guard and released me. We got out but someone had detected her. We made a run for it. By the time we got to space, there were a bunch of ships firing and chasing us until we hit hyperspace. I told her the only people I know of that could cure you were the Agor'rathians. So, that's how we ended up here." Fjorn finished with his eyes wide and hands stretched out wide, expecting an applause I assumed.

"Why didn't the Agor'rathians arrest us and send us to the Forge or Olympus?"

"Well, they don't really care of the intergalactic law. Not to mention, two things. The Agor'rathians believe in strength above all. You slayed a leader, you are now leader, in their eyes. Also, the healers felt that dark energy and explained to the warriors that you had fought a great evil. Superstitious and all, they gave us peace and allowed us safety until you were well enough to walk." Fjorn explained.

"Maire, you said my father knows where Famine is?" I asked.

"That's what the message said. Hopefully we can find some answers when we get to Nibiru." She said.

"Boy, I outta tell you, I am excited. We will be the first non swordsmen to step foot on the planet. What's it like?" Fjorn asked.

"Peaceful Fjorn." I said, I didn't feel there was much to say and by Fjorns lackluster reaction to it, I felt he seemed a bit disappointed by the short response.

The ship ride was filled with laughter and I could tell that Fjorn and Marie had really opened up and showed me who they really were. Behind Fjorns commonly drunk state, he had a rough life. His family had passed when he was younger. He took to mechanical engineering when he was young to hide his pain. He was only a couple hundred years old, so technically he was classified as a very young dwarf. He had a bright future ahead of himself, but given the struggle of loneliness, he suppressed his feelings with ale. That led to his ultimate downfall in academic studies. If not, he would more than likely be the head of the advanced engineering sublevel. I felt for Fjorns pain, and I understood why he gave sympathy to me whenever I felt down about the giants of Jotunheim.

Marie being a shapeshifter was born an outcast. She was born on the dark side of Kaj'Matar and fought like hell to stay alive. The shapeshifters on that side of the planet lived day to day, not knowing if they were going to be food, or even getting food. Eventually, she traveled to the city of Tu'Mal and plead to the Mystic. "Give me death or freedom from this planet. I wish to do anything I can to not go back to the dark side of the planet." The Mystic felt a great deal of admiration for her boldness to walk into the palace on her own and granted her the position of explorer. She would then send her out on various easy tasks, and Marie found joy in having a sense of purpose. The elves bullied her to the point of accepting any mission given by the mystic.

I told them of what little I remembered of Nibiru. When my soul was split from Zeus's scheme, I still had missing pieces of memory. I remembered training, day in and day out. Being the prince held a high standard of motivation. Of course, I was a little deviant in my time as a child, I grew out of it with a sense of accomplishment and readiness to protect. I loved Nibiru with all my heart but I knew that I could not be tied down and left there. I wanted to see the galaxy for what it truly was and opted to go on as many missions that involved with helping other civilizations. I eventually made friends with mercenaries, and common folks like Dragen. I would assist on mercenary contracts for free, the ones that didn't involve killing. I honed my skills over the years fighting many beasts, but never ones like the horseman. Other than that, my memories seemed distant and I left it at that.

"Arriving to the coordinates in approximately five minutes." The ships AI said over the coms.

We all packed our things and waited patiently to arrive. Usually when you are five minutes out from a planet you see it, and its system. Moons, sun, etc. There had been nothing but total darkness.

"This doesn't make sense, he said they would be here at this time." Marie said.

"Did you decode it properly?" I asked.

"I am pretty sure." Marie said hesitantly.

Then out of nowhere a large portal opened in space and a planet had come through.

"What in the bloody.." Fjorn said.

"The eternal realm. It's real." Marie said.

I simply smiled. "Let's go ahead and get down there then."

The ship went on course. The view was astounding. Beautiful pink fields of flowers rippled outside the city. The city was massive and held the same column decorated temple in the center, just a few hundred feet from the training grounds. People walked through the streets and it seemed as though the planet glowed.

There were groups of swordsmen patrolling the streets , unlike the vision in the eternal realm. Here they actually had real threats being exposed to the outside galaxy.

We descended to a platform on the outer edge of the city. There stood king Titus and his guards. We quickly got off the ship and looked around in amazement.

"Welcome home son, it has been quite some time." Titus had said with a big smile.

The guards saluted me. I nodded back.

"Fjorn and Marie I presume?"

They both nodded and didn't know whether to bow or not keep eye contact.

"Well, it has been a long journey, shall we indulge in some feasts?" Titus asked.

"It would be an absolute honor your majesty!" Fjorn exclaimed with a sense of happiness that he was going to be fed.

"No need for such titles Fjorn. I am simply Titus. I think you have all earned the respect for the daring missions you have been on. Please follow my guards, I wish to walk in private with Xander."

Fjorn and Marie quickly caught up with the guards and began their walk towards the dining hall.

"Father, I uh. I feel out of place." I said, unsure of what to say.

Titus hugged me. "It is quite alright. I almost broke my oath to come search for you myself boy." Titus said, tears swelled in his eyes. "I thought I lost you. I would have brought this whole damn galaxy down to see that wouldn't happen."

"My memory is still not intact, what oath?" I asked, feeling a little foolish.

"Of course, I remember feeling your emptiness when we were in the visions. As the ruler of Nibiru, we must never leave our people. For they cannot enter the eternal realm without me. Our power stems from our planets core. No matter how far, as long as you have your sword, you will have your power." He said with a smile.

"You mean our strength?" I asked.

"You would have much more than simply strength, but you have yet to unlock your full potential. In due time, you will. Which will give you the upper hand against Zeus himself." Titus said. "Enough about small talk, I know we have a lot to catch up on, but we need to discuss this next horseman. Hades. I know where he is and I know his true power."