Doria. A world that has never known war, a world that was at peace with itself. A world untouched by evil. In a single moment, that all changed, evil now had an eternal foothold in a pure world. A massive black portal now existed where Eden's Supreme Temple once resided, a place once revered as Holy Ground, was now festering incomprehensible evil. The sound of the howling wind was all Kito heard at first, the wind that came from the nearly identical looking Doria on the opposite side of the portal. After finally coming to, he slowly opened his eyes, finding the landscape had changed drastically in a matter of minutes. The native animals were nowhere to be found, and strange beasts were emerging from the portal, they were clearly dangerous. Slowly gathering his bearings, and his weapon, Kito searched around him for his three companions. Seems the blast was stronger than originally thought. he thought to himself. Though his policy was typically to leave the others to their fates, Ultima had insisted he protect his followers. With a scornful look on his face, he began trudging towards the portal, intending to defeat the creatures before things got out of hand. However, things didn't go as he had hoped, the creatures were significantly stronger and faster than Doria's own. By the time Kito arrived at the portal, he was face to face with a massive black behemoth. Near the portal was one of his companions, Calista, if he recalled her name correctly. She appeared to still be out of it, thus reserving the male to engage the beast in battle, even were he to only delay the inevitable.

The massive beast charged him, allowing Kito to evade easily, the large sword in his hand starting to glow. As the behemoth turned to face him again, Kito was already approaching, both hands lifting the sword. The blade pierced the beast's hide, the energy built up inside the sword becoming released into the behemoth's body, though it appeared to be unaffected. It's tail came around and slammed into the male, sending him through the air and landing near Calista. Getting to his feet quickly, Kito held a hand out, "Heavens smite thy enemy! Thunder!" he shouted, not budging from where he stood. The behemoth stopped it's assault, becoming focused on dodging the randomized strikes of lightning from the sky, in which the male was able to maintain. Turning his head, "Calista! Calista, get up! All hell has broken loose and we've lost the other two! Come on! I can't hold this thing off forever!" he called, trying to get her to come to. At this point, even the lancer would've been welcome help. Before another thought could pass through his mind, Kito witnessed an even more dangerous creature emerge from the portal, a gigantic black dragon. It stood on it's hind legs and let out a loud roar, it's massive red eyes searching for a target, finding the distracted behemoth. It was picked up with ease, despite the thrashing, the massive dragon devouring it right there. In that moment, Kito knew what true fear was, and that there were things in the world that could crush him without a single moment's hesitation. Luckily, the massive dragon ignored him and decided to take to the sky, leaving him alone there with an unconscious Calista. "What in the world was that thing?" he asked out loud.

Kyden didn't remember much after the black portal came in, other than being blasted through the air. He looked around to get his bearings just in time to hear a low growl. He looked around for his weapon and it was no where to be seen. He turned around in time to see a sabertooth of some kind lunge at him. As if on trained reflex, Kyden jumped into the air straight up. He felt something surge through his body and push out of his feet. It propelled him greatly into the air. He surveyed the area while in the air and saw his weapon. He "fell" toward it, in hopes that he would be able to grab it before the beast got him. The jump saved his life, but the fall may kill him Kyden realized. To anyone watching, it had to be a sight to see him fall with his arms flailing. But right as he was about to hit, his body responded promptly letting his legs absorb the shock and surprisingly it did not hurt. He did overcompensate on the landing though and it made him fall. The growl this time was so close, he could feel it on his neck. In panic, Kyden fell down and whipped his lance around just in time to skewer the beast. It slid down the staff so close that saliva got on his face. "Yuck!" Kyden screamed as he wiped his face.

While he was airborne, he saw Kito struggling to awaken Calista. He hurried over to rejoin the group, figuring his best odds of survival would be to do so.

"It's a dragon. If you ask me how I know, I could not tell you. I just know that is what it is." Kyden said as he ran up to rejoin Kito. Kyden looked at the beast with respect and in awe. This beast had a certain allure and majesty both terrifying and amazing all at the same time. "Sorry if I am late, I had some kind of cat-creature attack me, and lets just say I have a new coat." Kyden's grin stretched ear to ear. His sense of adventure growing inside of him even though he knew the danger that stood before him.

"I think it best we give this creature a wide berth. It's power is beyond us both I am afraid. Quickly, help me gather Calista! We need to get out of here as soon as we find our other companion."

As Kyden finished talking to Kito, he heard a shreak and a roar, as the dragon quickly finished off the big beast in his maw. It's attention was drawn back to the group. "Kito, gather up the group, I have a plan. Get them to safety. I will join up with you all shortly."

With that Kyden trotted off to divert the dragon's attention to buy the group some time. "I sure hope this works." He said under his breath as he waited for the beast to swoop. In it came, with its claws drawn ready to scoop.

It was a nightmare. That was all.
Monsters pouring from an eternal darkness, a nightmare was all it could be.

Calista's eyes slid open, everything was hazy and muffled. She could hear someone talking. It was distant, distorted. After a brief chat the voices died away and she blinked.
"Kito...?" She managed to groan. The world turned clear and she could see that her nightmare was real. A roar shook her out if her daze and she looked around. There was nothing she could see that could sound that fearsome.

Taking to her own feet, Calista realized her staff was missing.
"Kito, where is my stick?" She asked slowly. She was still groggy and head had started to hurt.
There it was! Just a short distance from her.
With much stumbling, she made her way over to it and stooped to pick it up. When upright again, a beast that looked much like a coeurl stood before her, growling.

Startled, Calista gasped. Then to her surprise, she reacted. The "coeurl" attacked and her body started to cast quake on its own. Her gold eyes shone in the dark as the earth before her shuddered and split, devouring the creature before it reached her.

Calista stepped backwards to steady herself. Her head now pounded furiously from the exertion, but she could see more monsters exiting the portal.
It was time to go.

It was at that moment it dawned on her that they were missing half their group. Kyden and Sarina were missing. Calista looked back at Kito, her face a mask of worry.
"What are we going to do?!"

It wasn't long until Kyden showed up, "I know what it is, Kyden, I have eyes too." he replied coldly. The roar prevented any further discussion between the two, only Kyden shouting orders out before taking off after the dragon, "Fool boy's going to get himself killed..." he muttered to himself. Kito watched as the dragon shifted it's focus from them and onto Kyden, for the moment, it seemed like the lancer's plan was working. He heard his name and looked back down at a stirring Calista, "I'm right here." he replied. When she asked about her staff, he began to look around, unable to to see it anywhere near him. Moments later, he heard a crack, turning just in time to see a coeurl-like creature swallowed up by the ground. Kito instantly reacted when she stepped backwards, prepared to catch her if she fell back, "Kyden's dealing with the dragon that appeared not that long ago, as for Sarina, I haven't seen her yet. It's likely she got blasted further away from us. In either case, I need you to do something for me, Calista. It's not safe here for any of us, I need you to find us shelter so we can figure out what to do next. I think I saw some buildings close to Moro Zera, maybe one of them is abandoned?" he suggested, lifting his sword onto his shoulder. He made his way towards the battle going on, "If you find Sarina, make sure you get her to safety as well. I'm going to save our lancer." he added before his body was engulfed in an orange glow.

Kito arrived just in time to see several more creatures emerge from the portal, all of them pursuing Kyden, who had somehow been put on the ground again. The dragon roared loudly, it's massive tail sweeping the charging creatures, killing or wounding them severely. It was apparent that the dragon was indiscriminate about who it attacked, friend and foe were equal game to it. Kito cursed his luck again, just what he needed, a dragon that was unpredictable. Of course, he also knew this dragon wasn't typical, and not just due to the fact it was enormous. It's attacks were calculated, as if it had extremely high intelligence. If that were the case, then was it possible that the inhabitants of Doria didn't know their world as well as they thought they did? Was it possible that there were monsters equal to this black dragon sleeping in the darkest parts of the world? This realization hit Kito hard, and it was in that moment that he finally understood why Ultima had led him to this place, to uncover the secrets of Doria. His own solution for absolute power had to be buried in those secrets, it all made sense now. Without wasting more time, Kito surged forward, blade at the ready. The dragon's red eyes turned to the male, a claw striking into the earth in an attempt to kill him, only to have been evaded. The male was now running up the arm, his blade glowing a bright yellow as magic was charged into the weapon, a second attack from the other claw coming. It missed, and Kito's sword entered the back of the dragon and continued downwards, allowing gravity to carry both sword and wielder until he landed safely.

The wound on the back exploded outwards as lightning bolts erupted from where the dragon had been cut, it falling forward to the ground, it's back still sparking here and there. Before Kito could savor his victory, the dragon's wound healed almost instantly, proving exactly what Kyden had said. The dragon was out of their league. "Kyden! Find Sarina and Calista! Get them to safety!" he shouted, turning to face the rising dragon. It let loose an ear-splitting roar, it was clearly angry and wanted blood. It took to the sky, something forming in it's mouth, something orange. It circled Kito several times before opening it's massive maw, a large orange ball revealing itself as it grew even more larger, eventually becoming a solid beam of orange light. The light shot forth faster than Kito had expected, hitting close enough to him to injure him and be sent flying, rolling along the ground like a ragdoll. The dragon landed over him and charged up again, this time letting the attack go in the form of a ball, obliterating what was left of the man. Satisfied, it finally took of for the sky, heading east across the ocean. Though his body was destroyed, Kito's consciousness still lingered. It was eventually pulled up high away from the planet, and away from Doria, until it was no longer in space either. It was now in a realm unseen to mortals, a realm where the Goddess Ultima resided, a place of complete and utter darkness. It was here that Kito's consciousness was given a form more suited for Ultima's Champion, a body identical to his mortal one, but contained within it was the Goddess' Power.

"Kito. Kito, wake up." a voice called from all around him. Kito's eyes opened, "Am I...dead?" he asked. There was a chuckle, "Not exactly. You did die, but I remade you into my champion. I suppose it was a good thing you tried to take my pet down, it certainly made it easier to make you a new body, instead of having to wait for you to die on your own." the voice replied. "New body? What do you mean?" he asked, slightly confused. "You see, the human body you had is gone, destroyed by my pet. You remember him, right? The dragon? Well, thanks to him, I was able to give you a new body along with some of my powers." it explained. "Your powers? Are you trying to tell me that you're a God?" the voice scoffed, "It's Goddess. And yes, I am one." it corrected him. "Alright, then who are you? Eden?" he asked. "DON'T MENTION THAT NAME IN MY PRESENCE AGAIN!" the voice roared. "No, I am not her. I am called Ultima." the voice replied. "Ultima? The same one whom I've been hearing for most of my life?" "The very same, Kito." she replied. Kito looked around, "What is it you want me to do in exchange for this new body?" he asked. "Simple. Corrupt Eden's temples, create wars, uncover the truth about Doria's creation. You can do all this in whatever way you see fit, it's entirely up to you. You have the thing you've wanted most, absolute power, the power of a Goddess! Now go, my champion, sow the seeds of destruction!" she told him. Kito's body returned to Doria, roughly in the same shape it had been before the dragon landed the killing blow, though the male was still unconscious.

Kyden figured that it would only buy a little time. This dragon was far too intelligent to be tricked more than once. So, when he managed to leap over the dragon with his new trick that he learned, he knew he'd have to change his strategy for the next swoop. Just as the dragon was making rounds to come in for another attack, Kyden witnessed Kito run up the dragon and attempt to slice it open. "Show off," he said silently to himself. But after seeing how well the dragon healed after the massive attack, he immediately regretted them. "Kito don't be getting yourself killed, and maybe don't ask such an obvious question next time. This is going to be bad, and now he's really pissed." Kyden flashed him a fierce grin before running off.

As much as Kyden hated leaving Kito, he knew his friend's request was a sound one. He needed to get the group out of here. Kito was probably more apt to handle himself against this majesty. So Kyden did just that after a look back, he ran toward where he had seen Calista.

"Calista!! We need to go, have you seen Sarina? I haven't and its getting hairy out here." Before he could finish the thought, a huge shadow leaped over them. "You have got to be kidding me! A chimera!?! What else is going to come out of that damned portal?"

"Calista, we need to dispatch this creature as soon as possible so that we can find Sarina."

The beast's tail was a serpent, and Kyden HATED snakes. So that was the obvious target for his attacks. Kyden whipped his lance around before locking it in under his arm. He worked furiously and jabbed his lance into the form of a pentagram. Each attack lit up a dot at the point of impact on the serpent until the formation was completed. The dots detonated in simultaneously upon completion jarring back the creature and leaving it exposed. "Calista, quickly, strike it now!"

Calista had been well on her way to Moro Zera when Kyden caught up to her. She opened her mouth to reply, but another monster cut her off. A Chimera. Great. At least it wasn't a kind of behemoth or one of those damn floating eyes. She shuddered at the thought, they were so creepy. She watched Kyden attack the beast in awe, admiring his skill. He sure knew how to handle his weapon. She was snapped out of her daze as he shouted for her to attack.

Her mind sharpened, gazed focused. Slowly Calista took a breath. An orange-red light surrounded her hand before a flame ignited.
"Burn you foul beast! Fire!" she shouted and the fire shot from her hand to strike at the chimera. The attack did damage, but it wasn't enough to put it out of its misery. The snapping jaws of the lion head erupted from the flames to bite at her. Calista was quick enough to parry the first blow with her staff, but not to keep its massive body from knocking her over.

The fall caused her staff to be dropped out of her hands. Calista used what little strength she had to keep the chimera from landing the killing blow. Eyes wide with fear, she cried out each time it jaws closed. Each time it grew closer and closer to her face.

Before the mouth could reach her an arrow came flying out of nowhere, lodging into it's eye and embedding itself in it's brain. The creature staggered back with a howl of pain before crashing to the ground dead.
A hooded figure came from the cover of some rocks, her bow distinctive enough for them to recognize her.

Sarina had been knocked farther away then the others. She had come to and heard her comrades battling. She had been working the parimeter, taking out trying to see just what and how much they were up against. She had arrived just in time to see the chimera about to snack on Calista. Her reaction had been instant. Sarina wasn't particularly close to anyone in the group, but they were still her comrades for this quest. Hence they deserved her protection. Honor prevented Sarina from leaving them to their fate.

"We have to find better cover. There are more of these creatures around," she said, jerking her arrow out of the chimera's corpse. Her clothes became splattered with the creature's blood. "Where is Kito?" she asked her companions, notching an arrow into her bow, ready to attack again if they were ambushed.

"Hey, I was about to do that!" Kyden turned to Sarina as she removed her arrow from the beasts eye. He ran over to help Calista to her feet. "Are you alright?" he asked. After checking on Calista, Kyden glanced over to the chimera and winced. Note to self: Don't make these two mad. One will burn me, then the other will blind me. He thought to himself, and it made him chuckle. Kyden looked over these two warriors and saw how capable they each were. He was intimidated that they had such beauty and power. The thought about the beauty made him blush. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he came back to the situation at hand. "I am going back for Kito, you guys go on ahead and find cover. We will meet up at Moro Zera as planned. You two be careful and watch each others backs." Kyden said as he began trotting off.

"Great just had to show off in front of the women. You were almost to safety you idiot!" He said to himself. Hearing a low growl reminded him just how stupid that truly was. He turned around to see a behemoth fighting with 3 sabers. Kyden knew discretion was the better part of valor, so he got low and snuck off before becoming the center of their attention. Kyden kept trudging towards the portal, hoping that the dragon had left, and that he may find Kito. To his fortune the dragon must have gotten off on the trail of another meal. Because by the time he got back to where they enacted the portal it was all clear. He squinted his eyes, and saw what looked like someone, it had to be Kito. Kyden ran over to the body and listened to his chest. Good, he could hear the heartbeat. How he was still alive, Kyden didn't know. "Kito! Kito! Wake up Kito! Come on, now is not the time to be dreaming! It's dangerou...." Is all he could get out before the gigantic Zu swept for an attack.

Calista watched as Kyden went back for Kito. These men, they were so brave. Sarina was very brave too. She felt she could be brave around them. A smile grew on her lips and she turned to Sarina.
"Let's see if we can make it to Moro Zera without having to get in another fight." The two of them were ranged specialized. If they came across any other close combat predators, they would be in serious trouble.

It was more than a short jaunt to Moro Zera. Before setting off again, Calista stretched. Then it dawned on her; it would be a good idea to make sure Sarina was okay.
"Are you well, Sarina? We are pretty far from the portal now." It was far more important to make sure she was okay before pressing on. Calista's worry was genuine, even if she didn't think of it right away. If there was something troubling the young woman, they would need to deal with it quickly as neither of them knew the cure spell. Nor did Calista remember to pack any type of helpful medical supplies.