"Where'd the Anubis go?" Ares was fiending for a spot of murder. It's not like he held a personal grudge against the cane-wielding pooches or anything but if their dead bodies were going to throw him a bone and drop some Godly loot then Ares wouldn't mind snagging it all up! He'd killed a few powerful monsters before and while the Scylla, for instance, gave him its heart the mecha dryad back in Baja forest netted him nothing. Ares had a gut feeling the Anubis would fall into the former category and give him something great but they'd been swiped away by Tom Tom at crucial moments each and so Ares wanted answers!
"Relax, would you!?" Tom Tom felt like he was dealing with an overeager child who wanted to open up his Christmas presents ten days early. "You'll get to see the Anubis again sooner than you think and if you really want to kill them then you can be my guest. From now on..." Tom Tom coughed up some kind of rod and spat it onto the floor. "The Anubis belong to you. They are currently being stored within that rod. They can be guardians of whatever you want them to protect and they'll obey dutifully. They'll need to be empowered before they can return to full strength, like what you saw outside just now when fighting them, but they ought to be capable of actually growing now that you'll take them up and above Sheryashka to domains with more mana in the air and cultivation potential. To start with, they'll resemble their initial form in the first trial you faced off against them but helping them cultivate will no doubt make them a force to be reckoned with. I'm not too sure how I feel about giving them to you, especially after you received the Scylla heart and 'Old Light' who's also going to be functioning as a sort of guardian for your sect back in Red Sun... But whatever. If you want to make your sect some kind of utterly unassailable fortress of nightmares and freakishly powerful monster then go ahead, I won't stop you. But yeah, those Anubis are captured within that rod artifact and can be summoned freely. Handy isn't it? Like portable guard dogs. Way more stalwart and herculean than old regular mutts though. Granted it seems like Sandy over there has become stronger than they could ever hope to be but it can't hurt to have the Anubis around anyway, you might even be able to transfer some of their blood to Sandy and that might be beneficial for making her bloodline purer. As an aside, I'd recommend building the Anubis a sand pit of sorts wherever you set them up. The Scylla likes water but the Anubis like sand and will function optimally in desert-esque environments. Sandy will appreciate it too so maybe set aside some space for such a biome on the cutting room floor of sect management."
Ares picked up the rod, gave it a once and twice over, and then threw the artifact into his Primordial Blade. He could name the artifact later, that would transfer ownership to him and make Ares the de facto master of the Anubis. "Alright, guess I'll keep 'em alive. Probably more useful to me living than dead and maybe Dominus can train them up or something down the line. What else ya got for me, Tom Tom? I know you're a fat cat with a fat stash so let me see those fat stacks!"
"The hell do you know you fat twat?! Also stop calling me a cat damnit or I'll seriously make you regret it! I already told you there's only one major reward for completing the Riddlemyd and those Anubis are it. No matter how much you bark I'm not giving you anything other than the leash to control the dogs. Do you seriously think those two mutts are just some ordinary canines? They've got pedigree even for a lower domain like this!"
"No less ordinary dogs than you are an ordinary cat I suppose..."
"Bastard! Any other cultivator in Sheryashka would kill to have those Anubis. They'd be functionally immortal carrying those two around in their back pocket! Only an insufferable oath like you could be so ungrateful! Whatever, here. Take this and get lost!" Tom Tom ptooied out a small pile of randomly assorted body tempering resources for Ares to play around with. It really seemed like this was all Tom Tom was going to pass on but Ares knew deep down that his troublesome guy was safeguarding better stuff in his back pockets! Ares hadn't forgotten about the potential fine grind Tom Tom had hidden up his sleeve and Tom Tom was going to cough it up by hook or by crook by the the time the sun set outside and that was final! Ares shoved the resources into his Blade and walked towards Tom Tom's head with a crooked smile as he greedily rubbed his hands together. His eyes were closed so as not to give away the fiery animosity hidden within as he was more than willing to pick a fight with his dumb cat if he wasn't given what he was after peacefully! Ares had plans for this potential outcome and was more prepared for a scrap than Tom Tom was, of that he was certain!
"Look kitty, you can hand over the secret you're clinging to or I can take it off your cold clone corpse! I know you got it and I know I want it; that's a baaaaad combination! Don't go making things any worse than they already are. Cough up the goods or mouthfuls of blood!"
"Hmph, you think I'm scared of you?" Tom Tom puffed up his head with pride. "You've been mouthing off this whole Riddlemyd run and I think it's high time I put you in your place! So what if I have a ludicrously amazing resource hidden and tucked away in my possession? Who do you think you are? Taking it off me is impossible even if you know I have it so go on you ignoble rodent, entertain me with your pathetic attempt to stand up to me! See how I crush you beneath my paws!" Tom Tom looked just about ready to start pecking at Ares but he was somewhat confused when Aejaz and Sandy left through the passageway to the roof after receiving some sort of mental message from Ares. Tom Tom mistakenly assumed Ares would be picking a fight with him right here and now so those two running off like this was strange. Was Ares not expecting them to help him?
Tom Tom could tell roughly how powerful Ares and his magic were and, while definitely no joke, Tom Tom was calm, collected, and confident it was within the realm of feasibility to put Ares down without too much hassle. Ares didn't know what he was getting himself into here but throwing away his aid on top of his ignorance of what Tom Tom could do? Tom Tom was really going to have burn it into Ares the difference in experience! Ares might not have known this but Tom Tom was an excellent wielder of the sword in his real form! He was the legendary sword wielding sphinx who battled foes with a sharp weapon clutched firmly between his teeth! Unfortunately this clone body did not possess such capabilities, for various reasons, but it was hardly a slouch in the combat potential department and was more than sufficient. Tom Tom was undaunted by Ares and was more than willing to finally, at long last, take this test body for a spin while shutting up this insufferable revenant! All those times he'd been cat-called, literally, had boiled his blood more than any desert sun could!
Ares, however, had different plans. He didn't mind fighting whatever the hell Tom Tom was, he really didn't as he still had his Canis Stimulant in his back pocket ready to go, but that wasn't his plan A here. Tom Tom didn't know about the beatdown awaiting him via Garmr but, even still, that was only plan B. Ares smirked at Tom Tom as he walked towards the passageway to take his leave too. "Consider this your final warning, Tom Tom. You can either give me the fine grind the easy way, or we can do this hard way... And let me tell you, the hard way is going to hurt! I don't where exactly your main clone body is, I never did manage to figure that out, but there's zero chance I don't do some serious damage to it with what comes next!"
"Bah! Get lost already you punk! The only thing you're damaging is my ears with your obnoxious voice!"
"Hmph..." Ares snorted and left the room with his voice still echoing behind him like an ominous warning from beyond the veil of reality. "... Don't say I didn't warn you, Tom Tom." Ares stepped back up onto the roof and headed over to the edge. It was a long way down but he had Voidwalk and his Zephyr to glide if need be. He was officially done with the Riddlemyd now and never needed to return! He had no idea what was in store for it, or where Tom Tom would pilot the thing and drive it off to, but Ares wouldn't chase it down or care anymore! Rather, Ares wasn't even sure if it was going to still be operational after his plan was all said and done. Why? Well... "Chaos Reigns!" Ares stamped his foot which both allowed him to catapult himself off the Riddlemyd with a leap as well as serve as a catalyst for all hell to break loose. During his climb up the Riddlemyd, from about floor three onwards, Ares had been burying multiple Shock Beads under just about every room. The quantity of Beads he'd buried over his recent period of exploration was simply uncountable and the beads hidden in floors and walls were all lighting up at this very moment and ready to cause a ruckus!
Wormy was going to get blown into smithereens first, followed shortly by all the hallways, then the labs, and finally the trial rooms. Wherever Tom Tom was hiding he would be sniffed out and snuffed out by the mass detonations rocking the entire dungeon and presumably wind up dead by the end of it all if not borderline there. All Ares would have to do is search through the Riddlemyd wreckage afterwards, dig out his withheld goods, and all would be well that ends well! In Ares' defence, though this was highly aggressive, it didn't need to end this way! Tom Tom could have just been obedient and co-operative and the multiple thousands of Shock Beads inside the Riddlemyd could have all just sat there like duds for the rest of time. But nooooo, he just had to keep being stubborn to a fault and loyal to one too. Even though his master, Sevorus, was more than happy to give Ares the resource Tom Tom was holding onto... What an absolute fool of a mule. It was still strange though as Ares really didn't expect Tom Tom to lie and die by this level of stubbornness. How good was the fine grind he found, exactly? Three or four years maybe? Would that even warrant this defiance? Well, regardless, Ares would find out sooner or later!
Right now, Ares was freefalling through the sky as the Riddlemyd constantly exploded behind him. Explosions could be seen rocking the floating dungeon, blasting it through the air and causing it to tilt off its usual axis. Parts of the outer edges were flung off like shrapnel meteorites as fiery spontaneous combustions wrecked the pyramid and made countless holes while dark smoke could be seen rising out of the Riddlemyd's gaps between each of the layers. Things were really not looking pretty and boy was Ares glad he wasn't in there right about now! Tom Tom must have been sorely regretting his decision to pick a fight with Ares even if he still had counter measures up his sleeve as this level of destruction was probably nor worth going up against no matter how confident he was. The cost was simply too high! Ares was partially thankful, though, because he could feel his own cultivation rising as a result of this golden display. His cultivation had improved considerably after the Anubis fight as is and Ares was now a few mere steps away from going up yet another stage. Ares would definitely reach bloodline awakening at some point in Isasz, there was just no denying it anymore. Ares might even make it to the 10th stage of sensory enhancement before leaving Xasca at this rate! Blowing things up was as good for his cultivation as ever and the larger the better. Tom Tom practically gifting Ares the Riddlemyd as a sacrifice due to his own bullheaded behaviour was simply the cherry on top!
Ares' Zephyr spread wide, allowing him to descend down to the floor with a soft step and catch up to Aejaz and Sandy who were watching the Riddlemyd crash and burn behind him. They weren't the only ones enthralled, however, as it seemed like a bunch of no-affiliation cultivators were showing up here for some reason... What were they thinking, exactly?! Ares had a rough idea but surely they weren't this stupid, right? There were a lot of them, hundreds even as they'd gathered on the outskirts of this Riddlemyd crash sight before coming over, but even if they banded together they couldn't possibly beat Ares... They must have assumed he got something mythical for beating the Anubis and Riddlemyd but not only was that not really true, Ares didn't value the Anubis too highly personally, but they wouldn't be able to beat him and take it off him regardless! They couldn't even beat Sandy or Aejaz!... Although maybe Aejaz was possible if he was lazy for whatever reason... Though, then again, Aejaz would probably just turn invisible and run away so worrying about that was meaningless.
Anyway, the point here was that these people were seriously barking up the wrong tree if they thought they could win by ganging up on Ares like this. He sighed and shook his head, ready to raise a fist and get to slaughtering, but someone else appeared by his side and seemed intent on doing it on his behalf. This new individual appeared via lightning strike and hovered an inch off the ground perpetually with a resplendent crown on his head... "Kazaz?" Ares raised an eyebrow at this new / old acquaintance. The lighter duo must have been inside the Riddlemyd when everything kicked off and wound up near the bottom of the Riddlemyd after being kicked out. From there they spectated the fight with the Anubis, too fully grasp the power of their sect master and whether he was worth forming an alliance with, and decided to join together now to establish and cement that allyship by helping him take care of these cultivators. That or maybe they were just curious and looking to try out their new powers. The Riddlemyd was no longer an option so these cultivators would suffice. Either way, this singular Kazaz prince was looking to rumble, that much was evident based on his posturing.
The Kazaz prince, whatever his first name was, had a rather striking appearance compared to the two nameless and forgettable individuals that made him up. Spiky green hair, lazy but sharp dark-yellow eyes, a slumped half smile of mockery, decently good looks, somewhat tall, fluttering robes, and oozing magical might that was nothing to sneeze at. Definitely a more memorable appearance and general vibe than the lighter duo but also unquestionably more cocky and arrogant. This was the look of a guy who thought he was the centre of attention without trying to be and, to be fair, he was a prince so he wasn't necessarily wrong. He must have viewed himself as the protagonist of his own life, as well as the lives of a few others, which was a stark contrast to Lightning Guy and Water Guy. Memories really made all the difference. Perhaps he was right to be so domineering in his attitude, however, because he looked more than capable of wiping out this approaching army with a few waves of his hand if he so wished. Kazaz was definitely a prodigious prince, and a monstrous magical maestro, as his power was definitely in the top five of the sect lot that he was frequently compared to. He was undeniably stronger than anyone in the sect, not currently living at Ares' house anyway, and he might be able to contend with some of the weaker Redhomes to some extent. The Lighter Duo's combined efforts were always respectable so it only made sense that literally combining them together would lead to impressive results.
The Kazaz prince wasted no time in pleasantries, didn't even bother announcing his arrival or speaking to the peasants crowing before him, and simply clicked his finger to summon a surge of electrified water. This wasn't an art, nothing of the sort, and yet the flood that appeared out of thin air was comparable to Ares' use of Tidal Greetings. Sure Ares had no real expertise with the water pillar, and was still learning, but it just went to show how capable Kazaz was. Ares didn't need to lift a finger as the Xascan cultivators were washed away and shocked down to the bone in the blink of an eye. Some of the experts amongst the ranks of these cultivators managed to anchor themselves to one position, or find high ground on larger dunes, but they were quickly struck by bolts of lightning and battered back into the summoned stormy sea. Kazaz wasn't even lifting a finger anymore, the lightning strikes were operating on their own. That or he was directing them with his eyesight but either way he really wasn't putting forth much effort.
Ares was curious to see just how strong Kazaz could get if he casted an art but there was no real reason for him to do it so maybe Ares could get a glimpse some other time. Knowing how strong the people in his sect were was important to Ares but he wasn't going to go around and demand they showcase their talents hidden up their sleeves or anything. At the end of the day, he was still confident in his ability to take on all-comers so if any of the sect disciples / elders were harboring desires of usurping his position they'd seriously regret it. This Kazaz guy seemed to have a bit of an arrogant ego and that hadn't slipped by Ares' notice. He'd probably have to deal with this ambitious guy, and smack some important lessons into him to make him fall in line, but that was a problem for future Ares... Although the Kazaz prince's reason for helping out here was made apparent to current Ares when he turned to face him with some kind of weird smug look on his face. Put simply, Kazaz was showing off. 'Look at me, I'm the main character now'. He really wasn't but he could live with that delusion for now if he so wished. Ares would just treat him like a useful idiot who was extremely close to biting off way more than he could chew. Ares was currently at his weakest and could still beat this guy. If Kazaz waited until Ares reached bloodline awakening... Well he'd be in for quite a surprise, no doubt. Hell Kazaz had failed to kill very single cultivator with his magic and some had washed up onto the wet desert like flopping fish. If Ares used his own magic there would have been give or take... A whopping zero survivors! As if in realisation of that fact Kazaz kissed his teeth and moved to finish off the rest of the worms at his feet... But he was interrupted by the sound of the Riddlemyd finally crashing down into the sand with an impressively loud BANG.
Kazaz spared it a brief glance, Gave a half chuckle half snort while shaking his head once and once only, before turning back around to finish the deed he'd left partially unfinished. The crashed Riddlemyd behind him was of no interest to him as it had probably been picked clean by Ares during his own ascent through it. Though Kazaz saw himself as king of the world he did acknowledge that Ares was not some push over and, though there was an unearned sense of superiority, there was also a respect present regarding his opinion of the sect master. Though he frequently acted like an idiot, Kazaz, the prince, had seen many such people in his life who were anything but despite their outward facade and Ares fell into that category. Kazaz knew better than to go along with the whims of a person like Ares and just treat him like normal irrespective of whatever he was doing. At the very least, people like Ares wouldn't have accidentally left anything valuable behind in the Riddlemyd worth scrounging for. Or, rather, even if there was anything there Ares almost definitely knew of it and had busted the floating dungeon specifically to obtain it.
Kazaz cared more about testing his regained might on the cultivators than he did picking a fight with with Ares for potential treasures that might not even interest him. Memories of the fully stacked vaults in the Kazaz kingdom were more than enough motivation for the prince and so acting like a thieving rat, like an Aejaz, was so beneath him the thought of ruining his reputation, even in a lower domain like this, made him sick. He was a proud individual who wouldn't stoop to such things... That and he was admittedly a little worried Ares might beat his ass for daring to try. Though it pained Kazaz to admit it, there was a clever part of him buried somewhere in his psyche that was well aware Ares was indisputably the top dog around here. Anyway, Kazzaz ignored the Riddlemyd and went back to flinging fingers at people to summon eradicating thunder to purge the weak. He managed to score a few hits before his attention was distracted yet again by the Riddlemyd... But that was strange... Hadn't it already crashed? Why was it still making strange clicking noises even now!?
Ares and co all turned around to watch as the Riddlemyd seemingly grew legs and picked itself up off the floor. It morphed and rotated around with each individual brick relocating and repositioning itself. Ares knew the interior of the Riddlemyd could be rearranged at will but he had no idea the entire thing could freely transform too... "Aw crap, I think I get it now..." A realisation dawned upon Ares that he might very well be looking at Tom Tom's clone body in the flesh...
Tom Tom was the entire Riddlemyd, wasn't he?!
Ares remembered back when the Anubis accidentally hit the floating Riddlemyd and failed to even leave a dent... Tom Tom was overly confident about dealing with the Anubis if he had to because his 'body' was literally impenetrable to them. Also, in hindsight, it made a lot of sense that Tom Tom had so much control over the Riddlemyd. He could appear basically anywhere at any point, rearrange the insides, relocate people spatially within him, open up all the passageways, set up traps and trials pretty freely... But it was sill odd! It's not like the Riddlemyd looked like a 'body' of any kind! Ares couldn't be blamed for not seeing this ahead of time... Though it really had been right therethe whole time, right from the very get go. What made Ares feel a little better was that the transforming Riddlemyd was starting to take a more appropriate form and resembled a beige-ish, sandy mechanical sphinx with brick lines running through it...
But why were there three heads? The sphinx head, Tom Tom's signature head, made a lot of sense... But there was also a crocodile and a bird head that looked somewhat like ears. They were growing out of the sphinx head like massive tumours and Ares didn't understand what the point of them was. What he did know, however, is that Tom Tom had really pulled the wool over Ares' eyes with this one! Ares assumed his Shock Bead plan would flush Tom Tom out but all it had really done was tickle his innards a bit and wake him up. He really had been just sort of sitting there in the sky and lapping up the sun this whole time like a cat, huh? No wonder he said he got cold at night earlier...
Ares shook his head, he was going to have to fight this thing! The shapeshifted Riddlemyd wasn't as large as the two Anubis, not even close, but it was still a titan in its own right. It walked around on all fours which is why, height wise, it wasn't too impressive but there was alot of length and girth to it that made up for that and then some. From personal experience, Ares know that the outer layer of sandstone brick of the Riddlemyd was was tough and God only knows how many defensive runes were embedded onto that sphinx's hull. Ares was under no illusion about the direction of this fight if he didn't bring out Garmr, he knew his limits and annoyingly this stupid mega-morphing cat was it. Sevorus had seriously shown this damn sphinx some massive favouritism and gifted it an impeccable body for a mere clone. Tom Tom was near enough invincible in the lower realms and could even strut his stuff freely in most of Vraizon but, unfortunately for him, he'd met his match. Cats and dogs tended not to get along and Garmr was not one to spare an opponent any mercy. It was time for Tom Tom to face Ares' trial for once!