Achillean and Ingressus were locked in combat. The red Ardoni wielded the Voltar and a flaming scarlet sword. The sword remarkably resembled that of Thalleous, but the enchants roared like fire instead of raging blue. The other had only a double-ended staff. with curved diamond blades. The sun scorched the earth and not a snowflake was in sight. The golden warrior started teleporting all around the other, landing blow after blow each time he appeared. Finally, he teleported on top of Ingressus and came down upon him like a golden fireball. The Voltaris blocked him with his staff and knocked him away. The Tidesinger teleported onto the ground, catching his breath.
"They call me," Ingressus panted, "Deathsinger. "Yet it was they who slaughtered my people and denied me the Prime Songs which were rightfully mine. Why," he pointed his blood red sword at the other, "Achillean, do they call you Tidesinger?"
"Because," pushed the other through clenched teeth, "I have united the people of Ardonia against this nightmare you have created!" Achillean charged, firing a crimson dart through his staff.
Ingressus cut it aside and blocked the other's staff. He gathered a Supporium at his sword's tip, and thrust the dart forward. Achillean twisted in midair and cut on the other's right. He then leapt back, and fired another crimson dart. Ingressus summoned a blue shield and the dart almost pierced the blue wall, pushing Ingressus' feet slid back in the sand.
"You certainly have improved your ability to wield the Songs." The Deathsinger observed after letting the shield disappear. "I wonder," He charged and swung his sword at Achillean's right, "What you would have done had you been given the Primes!" He followed up with a deep jab of the Voltar.
"The Prime Songs have always been your desire, not mine." The golden warrior replied, blocking both attacks. "I would have refused them, for no one should wield their combined power." He swirled his staff around and struck low for the other's legs.
"That is what they all say." Ingressus said, teleporting into the air using the same Song as Achillean. "Until you have felt them for yourself!" He flung a huge bolder with a Supporium grasp. Achillean was forced to summon his dome shield to block. The boulder crashed to powder and knocked the Tidesinger close to a cliff.
The scene changed to the onlookers' eyes. It became more vibrant, clearer, more real. The battlefield seemed to project into the now.
"What are you doing here Ingressus?" The Tidesinger pointed his staff at the onlookers. "What sort of magic are you attempting to unleash?" They began circling each other, preparing the final sprint. "You have already, lost." Achillean charged, and fired his darts. Ingressus ducked, and the crimson Song flew into the cliff, shattering the rock.
"You are right." The scarlet Ardoni panted. "I have lost this war, but you have not defeated me." He put away his sword and Voltar. "You are my greatest adversary, Achillean." The Tidesinger, meanwhile, stood with his staff at the ready. "You united the clans, allied with the Enderknights, and brought together an army which I could never have hoped to destroy." Ingressus took a long look at the Ardoni opposite him. "And you," his voice seethed with anger and agony, "You, Achillean, stood between me and the Prime Songs. Do you remember who it was, who suggested I enter the tournament in the first place?"
The two had now come to a halt. Ingressus stood with his back to the onlookers across time, and Achillean stood opposite. His face was streaked with pain at the other's words.
"I cannot win this war." The Deathsinger continued, "Not now. But I will return." His voice had an uncanny determination. "Long after this battle is over," Raising his hand high at the archway, his voice escalated to a hysterical scream, "and I have been forgotten, when Ardonia has grown weak and my enemies are gone." He wiped his imaginary opponents out of existence. "And when you!" Ingressus took out his sword and ignited its flaming body. "Are no longer there!" He withdrew the Voltar. "To stop me!"
He lunged in a trail of golden sparks at Achillean, who raised his staff to defend. After the hit, The golden Ardoni swung around his blades at Ingressus. The Deathsinger froze into a blue ice sculpture and the blade went through him. Before Achillean could react, he un-froze and heaved an even larger boulder at Achillean. The Tidesinger was too close to duck, and had to use his blue dome again. Scarcely had the powder fallen off, than Ingressus appeared with his sword in a fierce jab. Achillian had no choice but to block. "AAAHHH!" He screamed as he was pushed over the ledge behind him.
Ingressus collapsed beside the cliff, breathing heavily. This will be his final verse before he left. Standing up, he put his weapons away and looked into the valley below. There was no one in sight. Good. He turned around and walked towards the portal. His Songs, a large golden Prime Song, a blue cube pulsing with equal vigor, and a green cube vibrating with likewise strength, emerged beside him. These powers he could not carry with him across.
Ingressus stood on the edge of the sunbaked sand and the moonlit snow. He cast one last look over his shoulder at the place where he had knocked down Achillean, and stepped across one hundred and fifty years.
The Ardoni watched in disbelief as the Deathsinger came back to life. They stood rooted to the spot as Ingressus fully emerged from the purple bubble. The red demon swept his eyes across the field strewn with bodies. With what looked like an inward sigh, he took out his weapons. Setting his sword aflame, which seemed to radiate death in the cold night, he spread his feet and arched his back, poised to kill.