A/N: Oren needs some training.

  He could probably have asked nicer.

  -x-X-x-

  "Fight me."

  Tyranos pauses, the Ancient God of Travelers and Roads giving Oren a distinctly unimpressed look as he lifts an eyebrow in response.

  "Excuse me?"

  Perhaps it's not the most diplomatic way for Oren to be approaching this, but he's still a little annoyed at Tyranos for putting Sophia in such a dour mood this past week. It's been two weeks since the three of them set out for Goldriver and by this point, Oren would say they're about halfway there. A journey that had originally taken him several months would only take about four to five weeks thanks to the god and goddess he was traveling with.

  He'd thought he would have more time to broach this subject, and he'd also been a little hesitant after the conversation Sophia and Tyranos had with one another. It wasn't like Sophia came away from it giving the Ancient God the cold shoulder or anything, but she'd been more than a little depressed in the days since they discussed the actions and decision making of her father.

  Of course, now that Oren is making a bit of an ass of himself, Sophia is pulled out of her funk and giving him a wide-eyed look.

  "Oren?"

  Mission accomplished, Oren tilts his head to the side and reframes his words.

  "Would you spar with me, Lord Tyranos?"

  Sophia blinks and then scowls mightily as she realizes Oren was just being needlessly agitating for attention. Tyranos, meanwhile, tilts his head to the side.

  "Spar? What a strange request…"

  Oren just shrugs.

  "I'm rusty. It's been more than half a year now since the st time I wore the armor and wielded the bde we're currently going to retrieve."

  When Tyranos still looks far from convinced, Oren rolls his shoulders slowly and continues expining.

  "As you know, I'm an Otherworlder. Comes with limitless potential and all that."

  The flippant way he describes it provokes a derisive snort from the Ancient God.

  "I am very aware of the power of Otherworlders, boy. I've faced ones who would have run circles around you."

  Oren chooses to take him at his word and fshes a toothy smile.

  "Perfect. Because limitless potential doesn't mean you grow at the same rate forever and ever. I've pteaued and that's not a good thing. It means I might not be good enough to kill the gods who need killing, even with my armor and sword back."

  Sophia interjects; her brow furrowed in confusion.

  "I'm not sure I understand, Oren."

  He softens his demeanor as he turns to expin things to her.

  "The Void Gods trained me for years. They pushed me to my limits again and again. Just when I thought I was outgrowing Raythe, he would reveal another level of strength and speed for me to surpass. In hindsight, it makes sense now how that was possible. He was never mortal, so he wasn't constrained to the same limits as mortals in this universe."

  Sophia nods, showing she's following along so far.

  "Well, eventually I started to hit diminishing returns. And ever since that day in the Heavens, I haven't really been challenged in a meaningful way. The Hill Giant's attacks barely tickled, but he maybe made me a little bit more durable. Running the entire way from Oakvale to your hideaway probably made me a little bit faster, given how hard I pushed myself for that. And more recently, fighting Aureo… I definitely could have gained more from fighting him than anything else, but eventually he might have gotten tired of me and focused on drowning the city so I couldn't exactly draw things out."

  Shrugging again, Oren gestures to himself.

  "In the end, those are the only three things that have happened in the past half a year that could have increased my physicality in any way. Other than that… I've just been nguishing. For good reason, or so I thought, but now I need to be strong enough to sy hundreds of these Void Gods. I need to be pushed to my limits again and we just so happen to have someone as powerful as your father right here… and ostensibly on our side."

  He didn't need to add the word 'ostensibly', admittedly. So far, Tyranos had been nothing but helpful to them. Sure, he might have told Sophia things she'd rather not have known, but she HAD asked. Oren does it anyways and isn't surprised at all when the Ancient God in question narrows his eyes at him.

  "We will be retrieving armaments that allowed you to singlehandedly sughter the Heavens shortly, Otherworlder. I'm not sure why you think you would need more power than that."

  Pnting his hands on his hips, Oren stands his ground.

  "Well that's just it, isn't it? That armor and bde were given to me by the very same Gods of the Void that we now want to hunt down and kill. I'm fairly certain that their intentions were to kill me whenever I finished the job, and they must have had some way of making sure they succeeded. I was strong enough to take down the Heavens when they were unprepared and unsuspecting. But the Void Gods are on the look out for the God Killer. They'll be on high alert no matter what, so we can't just rest easy thinking this will be a cakewalk."

  When both Sophia and Tyranos both look befuddled by that st bit, Oren sighs.

  "It's something from my homeworld. 'Cakewalk' means something very simple or easily done. The exact opposite of what I imagine trying to kill the Void Gods to be."

  Tyranos looks mulish, particurly so thanks to the visage of an old man that he wears. Law didn't look nearly as old as the God of Travelers and Roads, so Oren has to assume that the look is a choice.

  "Please Uncle… Oren is right."

  Sophia interrupts then, coming down on his side much to Tyranos' visible surprise.

  "We can't just assume that the God Killer's armor and bde will be enough for us to stop the Void Gods alone. We need every advantage we can possibly muster, including making Oren stronger if at all possible."

  Tyranos' visage softens noticeably at his niece's beseeching words. After a moment, he lets out a long, drawn out sigh.

  "Otherworlders being allowed to grow too powerful was what started this whole mess, you know. Your father would not approve."

  Sophia flushes at that but nevertheless doesn't back down.

  "Yes well… I believe I've done many things my father would not approve of. Please Uncle. Oren is right, you're the only thing we have capable of pushing him past his current limits at this point."

  Tyranos snorts at that.

  "A bit of advice, dear niece… when trying to convince someone to help you, you would do well to refrain from describing them as a 'thing'. It's not very… wise."

  The Minor Goddess of Wisdom and Equity blushes crimson and bows her head, mumbling an apology. Still, Tyranos turns to face Oren, narrowing his eyes at him thoughtfully.

  "I should warn you; I'm not much of a combatant."

  Oren furrows his brow at that.

  "You said before that you faced Otherworlders who could run circles around me."

  Tyranos inclines his head in agreement.

  "Indeed. 'Faced'. I did not fight them alone, nor was I the one who went toe to toe with them. That was always my brothers. Still, if nothing else this old traveler should have a few tricks up his sleeves. Draw your bde."

  When the Ancient God switches his grasp on his walking stick to a one handed sword grip, Oren tenses up and slowly draws his own sword. Not the celestial dagger, but the mortal-crafted steel that Sophia had had him arm himself with back when they'd first arrived in Goldriver. Eyeing the walking stick warily, Oren comes to a sudden realization.

  "That… stick wouldn't happen to be imbued with your divine blood, would it?"

  Tyranos' weathered lips pull back to reveal startlingly white teeth as he gives Oren a wicked grin.

  "How observant, Otherworlder. Now… defend yourself."

  That's all the warning he gets before Tyranos is right on top of him and swinging his walking stick so fast that Oren almost doesn't bring up his bde to block in time. His bones shake and rattle in the fleshy confines of his body as he just barely manages to brace himself before the full weight of the Ancient God's blow registers.

  Even then, he's sent skidding back several feet. At least he doesn't go flying, but as far as small mercies go, it isn't much of one. And Tyranos doesn't let up either. He immediately follows that first blow with another, and then another. Oren finds himself forced purely onto the defensive, grunting as he blocks strike after strike until finally one manages to get through his defenses, smming along his abdomen and making him double over as he gags and chokes on his own spit.

  Only then does Tyranos let up, taking a step back while Oren falls to his hands and knees in a recovery position.

  "Oren!"

  Sophia's worry is palpable in her tone, but Oren just holds out a thumbs up to let her know he's alright. Slowly, though much faster than any normal man would be capable of, Oren recovers and rises back to his feet. Heh, if he were a mortal native to this universe, he was pretty sure that blow would have not only pulverized his ribs but burst every single one of his vital organs at the same time.

  As it is… it hurts more than anything has hurt for a long, long time. But pain is good. Pain is how he knows he's on the right track.

  "Heh… thought you said you weren't a combatant."

  Tyranos scoffs, even as he flicks the walking stick to the side.

  "I'm not. All I'm doing is wailing on you with a stick, boy. Or would you truly compare my ckluster technique to what my brother was capable of the day you fought and killed him?"

  No… he's right and Oren inclines his head, wordlessly concealing the point. Law was definitely a more capable warrior than Tyranos from what Oren remembered. He wasn't just fast and strong like the God of Travelers, he was also tactical and cunning. The King of the Gods had been quick on his feet and always trying another gambit. The only thing Oren could truly say ill of Law's fighting style was that he'd completely cked in adaptability. He was very set in his ways and that had ultimately been what allowed Oren to defeat him.

  Of course, he's not going to say any of that out loud. Not with Sophia right there and already questioning everything she thought she knew about her father. He wasn't going to contribute to that, not if he could help it. Instead, he lifts his bde again and gives Tyranos a nod.

  "I'm ready. Let's go-!"

  The Ancient God doesn't even give him a chance to say 'again' before he's on him once more. But that's alright. This is nothing less than what Oren asked for. Punishing, grueling, challenging, and backbreaking. That was what Oren wanted. That was what they all needed for him, really. The more demanding the better, and so long as they had Tyranos with them, Oren didn't need to worry about getting too beat up and not being able to protect them from God Hunters or Void Gods. He could truly go all out and train his ass off as much as possible.

  And so that's what they do. As their traveling continues, Oren constantly pesters Tyranos for help in pushing past his limits. When they're not moving, they spar. Well, Tyranos comes at Oren with his divine walking stick and Oren tries to keep from getting battered and bruised, but it's still sparring. Sort of.

  Meanwhile, even when they are moving, Oren takes every opportunity to improve. He even introduces Tyranos and Sophia to the concept of 'tag'. He doesn't tell them that it's a child's game from his home world, of course. Instead, he describes it as a training exercise, one where he would do everything in his power to y the lightest touch on one of them to make them 'it' while they did everything in their power to keep away from him.

  Needless to say, despite both being distracted by the process of getting them to their destination as fast as possible, Oren is nevertheless 'it' for the vast majority of the time. And the rare few times he does manage to 'tag' either Tyranos or Sophia, they're able to almost immediately tag him back because unlike the two conceptual gods, Oren can't fucking teleport.

  That's okay though. It's not about winning or losing. It's about growing. There's nothing quite like a game of tag with two individuals who are almost impossible to catch to bring Oren to the limits of his speed… and then past them once more.

  Three more weeks pass like this. It would have only been two but after a certain point Oren had gone off the beaten path in his bid to hide his armor and bde. He'd figured putting it anywhere near human civilization… and therefore roads, was a losing proposition. As such, their speed is somewhat curtailed by the necessity to leave the roads where Tyranos is more powerful thanks to his domain.

  Even still, they manage to make the trip that took Oren several months by himself… in just five weeks. And finally, after a day of rest so Oren could recuperate on their approach, they had arrived at long st.

  "… A waterfall?"

  Sophia's confusion brings a slight smile to Oren's face. They stand on a riverbank staring at a massive rushing waterfall just up ahead. Coming down the side of a huge cliff face, the white water pulses and roars. Not that it deafens any of them. Sophia and Tyranos are deities and Oren is what he is as well.

  "Yep! Specifically, behind the waterfall. It was… traditional, back on my world. Come on…"

  As he begins to lead Sophia and Tyranos up the riverbank towards the cliff, Oren doesn't let any of his anxiety show on his face. And he definitely doesn't say anything really stupid like 'I just hope it's all still there'.

  Wouldn't want to jinx it, after all.

  -x-X-x-

  A/N: Lol. Lmao, even.

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