The fleet burns below the walls of the temple. Ships collapse into the black river, men screaming as the black fire consumes wood, cloth, and flesh alike. Oil spreads across the water in blazing sheets, turning the cavern into a floating inferno. Smoke climbs toward the ceiling in thick spirals.
At the center of it all stands the armored figure of Enki.
The god's face is no longer smug.
It is twisted with grief and rage so intense the air around him trembles.
"You—" Enki's voice cracks, then rises into a roar that shakes the cavern walls. "You devoured her."
Mike tilts his head slightly.
"Yeah," he says. "I did."
He wipes blood from his jaw with the back of one claw, studying the crimson smear with mild curiosity.
"I was getting tired of listening to her anyway."
The god trembles.
Power begins to gather around him.
Mike feels it instantly, the pressure building in the air. The water below churns, waves rising and crashing into the walls. The burning ships begin to rock violently, some flipping over.
Enki lifts one hand and a towering column of water erupts upward, spiraling into the air like a liquid serpent. Fire hisses and dies out where it touches, steam exploding outward, filling the cavern.
Mike's grin widens.
"Oh," he says softly. "You play with water."
The water column slams toward him.
He launches into the air an instant before impact. The force shatters the temple wall where he had been standing, obsidian fragments exploding outward. The shockwave rattles the cavern, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the stone.
Mike beats his wings hard, hovering above the destruction.
The new power inside him hums. It feels… intoxicating, but also like it belongs there and has always belonged there.
"What the hell is going on?" he mutters to himself. "Why does this feel normal?"
Below, Enki raises both arms now.
Multiple water spears shoot upward, moving faster this time. Mike twists midair, wings snapping tight to his body as he spins between them. One grazes his side, the impact strong enough to shove him sideways through the air.
He stabilizes instantly. No pain. Barely a scratch. "Huh,"
Enki's next scream tore through the cavern, a sound of pure rage that rattled the cavern walls.
"You abomination!" the god roared, voice cracking. "You will suffer for taking her from me!"
Mike looked at him from the air with a viscous smile on his face. For a fraction of a second, Enki's confidence faltered.
Then the god stepped forward onto the bow of his burning flagship.
Light erupted around him.
Golden energy poured from his body like liquid sunlight, forming armor of radiant plates that expanded outward until he stood nearly as tall as the cavern. Symbols burned across his skin, ancient sigils of authority, dominion, creation. The river itself receded from his presence, water pulling back from the hull in unnatural waves.
"You dare devour a god?" Enki snarled. "You are nothing but a beast wearing stolen flesh!"
Mike tilted his head as he circled around the massive glowing god. Flames leaked between his teeth as he smiled.
"Stolen?" he said softly. "That's funny. Don't the strong take from the weak?"
The words smacked the god in the face as his rage continued to grow. Enki launched himself into the air with explosive force.
The cavern shook as divine energy detonated beneath his feet, propelling him forward like a meteor. His fist collided with Mike's jaw in a burst of golden light.
The impact cracked the roof of the cavern.
Mike's head snapped sideways, stone shattering beneath him as his body skidded across the obsidian surface of the temple below. For an instant his vision became blurry as the pain registered. Theb he laughed. A deep, delighted, almost manical laugh.
"Yes!" Mike roared, claws digging into the temple to stop his slide. "That's more like it!"
He surged forward.
The two collided midair, shockwaves blasting across the cavern. Ships below capsized as the river exploded outward from the pressure.
Enki struck again, water spears from below along with golden blades formed in his hands, slicing across Mike's chest. Sparks and molten scale fragments scattered through the air. Mike roared, retaliating with a backhand that sent the god crashing into the cavern wall.
Rock collapsed in a thunderous avalanche.
Enki erupted from the rubble instantly, fury blazing in his eyes.
"You will kneel and accept death for your crimes against a god!" he thundered.
Mike inhaled.
Fire gathered deep in his lungs, as Mike's grin widened.
"Will I kneel?," he said.
Flame exploded from his mouth. It slammed into Enki, engulfing him in a column of black inferno that spread across the cavern.
The god screamed.
For the first time, there was real pain in it.
When the flames cleared, Enki hovered in the air, armor cracked, golden blood dripping from his side.
His eyes locked onto Mike.
Recognition dawned.
"No…" Enki whispered.
Mike's pupils narrowed to slits.
"Oh yeah," he said softly. "Now you see it."
The cavern trembled.
Not from their battle.
From something deeper.
The shattered statue fragments below began vibrating, stone shards lifting into the air as if gravity had loosened its grip. The black river churned violently, forming spirals that glowed faintly red beneath the surface.
Memory surged again.
Chains biting into scales.
Gods standing in a circle.
Voices arguing.
Destroy him.
Bind him.
Use him.
Mike clutched his head with one claw, growling.
"What… the fuck… is this…" he muttered.
Enki stared at him in horror.
"You're not supposed to remember," the god said.
Mike froze.
Slowly, he turned his head.
"What?"
Enki's expression twisted between rage and disbelief.
"This is a part of a memory," Enki said. "A fragment. A prison of time. You are re-living another time."
Mike's stomach dropped.
The cavern flickered.
Mike's breathing slowed.
"You…" he said quietly, voice shaking with realization. Mike's lips peeled back from his teeth. "Holy shit," he whispered. "You locked me as Kur in his own past."
The god's silence was confirmation.
Understanding detonated inside Mike's mind. This wasn't just a vision. It was a prison of Kur's past on earth.
Enki's voice turned cold.
"You were never meant to devour gods," he said. "You should be weaker, easier to kill in this construct!"
Mike laughed again, quieter this time.
"Well," he said, flames curling from his nostrils, "looks like your prison fucking sucks."
Enki roared and charged.
This time Mike met him head-on with no hesitation.
They slammed together, claws locking around the glowing blades. Mike twisted, jaws snapping inches from Enki's face. The god retaliated with a blast of concentrated light that burned through Mike's shoulder, punching a molten hole straight through muscle.
Pain exploded through Mike's body. He head-butted Enki. The impact shattered half the god's armor. Golden blood sprayed across the air.
Enki staggered back, shock written across his face.
"You resist?" he said. "Even now?"
Mike wiped blood from his eye ridge.
"Yeah," he said. "Because I'm not him."
For a moment neither of them moved.
The cavern around them began cracking.
Enki looked around, panic rising.
"You've destabilized the construct," he said. "If it collapses—"
Mike grinned.
"Oh no," he said. "That'd be terrible."
He lunged again.
This time he didn't aim for the armor.
He aimed for Enki's throat.
His jaws clamped down.
Divine energy detonated between his teeth as he bit.
Enki screamed.
Golden light erupted outward in a blinding explosion that hurled Mike across the cavern. He smashed through a stone pillar, crashing into the cavern floor hard enough to crater it.
Mike lay there for a second.
Then he started laughing again.
Blood poured from his mouth.
"That… hurt," he admitted.
Above him, Enki hovered, clutching his neck. The wound glowed as divine power struggled to regenerate torn flesh.
Hatred burned in the god's eyes.
"You and Kur are an infection," Enki said. "A corruption that should never have returned."
Mike pushed himself upright.
Flames crawled across his scales.
"Thanks," he said.
The cavern shuddered violently.
Massive cracks tore across the ceiling.
Chunks of rock fell into the river below, sending waves crashing against the cavern walls.
Enki's expression hardened.
"This ends now," the god said.
He raised both hands.
The cavern filled with golden light.
Symbols formed in the air, binding sigils, ancient and absolute.
Mike felt pressure slam into his body from every direction. Chains of radiant energy wrapped around his limbs, wings, throat. His muscles locked. He couldn't move.
Enki descended slowly, eyes burning with righteous fury.
"You will return to silence," he said. "You will return to oblivion."
Mike strained against the chains. They didn't budge.
Enki raised one glowing hand toward Mike's skull.
"This time," the god said softly, "you will be erased."
Mike's breathing slowed.
Then he smiled.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "About that."
Flames ignited beneath his scales.
Cracks of molten darkness spread across his body.
Enki froze.
"No," the god whispered.
Mike's eyes burned with void-colored fire.
"I'm not trapped in here with you," he said.
"You're trapped in here with me."
The chains exploded.
A shockwave of black fire tore through the cavern, vaporizing stone, water, and lingering fragments of the illusion. Enki was thrown backward, slamming into the far wall hard enough to crater solid rock.
Mike rose into the air. Wings spread wide. Power roared through him.
Enki looked up in horror.
"What are you?" he whispered.
Mike's grin was feral.
"I'm Mike," he said.
Then he dove.
The collision was catastrophic.
Stone vaporized.
The cavern split open from floor to ceiling as dragon and god slammed into each other with terrifying force. Light consumed everything.
Mike woke up to cold salty water gently brushing against his face. Chunks of burned wood floating in front of him. Pain shot through his whole body as he tried to get up.
Across from him on the rocks lay Enki, gold blood slowly pouring from open wounds. Mike smiled as he saw him. "Didn't go as planned, did it fucker?" A small chuckled filled the air as he moved toward the battered god.