GUARDIAN OF THE END

"Now what?" Jason asked once he and Amber landed in the center of the forest.

The area opened up into a clearing, a very clear example of a region for a boss fight. Standing in the middle of the clearing were two figures, one woman and a three-headed dog who was playing with a red rubber ball…

"We meet again, Jason." Veritas smiled. "Hello Amber, I am the goddess of truth, Veritas. Nice to meet you."

A frown appeared on Amber's face. She looked at the dog once before looking back at the goddess.

[ Am I supposed to bow down or something? ] She questioned Jason.

[ As far as I know, showing some respect is enough. Not like there is anything else that we can do here. ]

"Nice to meet you too…" Amber replied.

"There is no need to be nervous." Veritas smiled. "I can't do anything to you and neither can Cerberus. We are bound by ancient rules and laws."

Hearing her words, something clicked inside Jason's mind. He remembered the details he had read on the goddess of fear, Phobos.

"So you trapped like Phobos?" he asked.

"Indeed. This forest and this entire realm is our prison," Veritas agreed. "Everything here is created by us to test those entering the chamber of rebirth. If you clear and reach your thresholds, you will get something great once you return."

Jason and Amber wanted to say that they already knew this but they remained silent. This was mostly due to the fact that the three headed dog beside Veritas had chewed his ball to doom and was now staring at the duo.

"I am Cerberus." The dog said in a clear male voice. "I am the dog that used to guard the doors of the underworld. Please to be your acquaintance."

""Uh…""

Both Amber and Jason had no idea what they should reply with. Though he sounded friendly, Cerberus looked like a dangerous dog.

"Looks like your words didn't reassure them." Cerberus snorted. "So much for being the goddess of truth."

"They are mortals, young children at that. Its common for them to fear you especially when traces of your divinity are leaking out."

"I can't control that, you know."

"I never said you could. I just stated the truth." Veritas said with a calm expression.

"You and your annoying truths…" Cerberus grumbled.

Jason and Amber watched this back and forth exchange with an interested expression. It was the first time that the latter was watching such an exchange between two supposed gods.

Even Jason, who had seen this before, was interested in seeing the outcome.

"Let's talk with them first and then continue this discussion. We have a lot of time to talk things out." Veritas said at last before looking at the duo. "Both of you want to get out?"

The duo nodded in reply.

"I can tell you the way to break through your threshold on one condition. You will have to fight against a certain creature and if you win, you can exit this place in the next two hours. If you fail, you die and get reborn as a baby in this world.

You will grow up and will have to do the same thing again to exit this place. Do you want to try this method or try playing with your luck?"

The duo exchanged a glance and started talking with the help of telepathy. When it came to luck, both of them weren't the luckiest person they knew.

Though they might not be some of the luckiest, betting with their lives was something they didn't want to completely leave on luck.

"We are willing to do this," Jason said after a few minutes.

"Good. Now go fight." Veritas waved her hand in their direction and sent them away.

Cerberus sighed once before he too vanished alongside the goddess of truth.

All four of them appeared in a new location which was designed specifically for fights. Two seats were placed in the sky, one of which was normal human sized while the other was a large cot like structure.

Sand was visible for tens of kilometers with no signs of life, except for the two children present on the ground.

Jason and Amber stretched their bodies and warmed up to fight. They had fought many times and were used to it by now.

[ We can take on a high A ranked or perhaps even a low S ranked beast now. ] Amber commented.

[ That's if we go all out but I guess you are right. ]

Neither of them were the same as they had been during the fight with Iktomi. Perhaps they could win now…

"You simply have to kill your opponent," Veritas announced. "Either you die or your opponent dies. You will have infinite amount of times and everything is allowed in the fight. We can start once you are ready."

Jason and Amber took a few minutes to prepare some strategy. Veritas smiled at their actions but didn't say anything.

Cerberus, who had seen the same thing multiple times, shook his head. He could predict the outcome of the fight but decided to put some faith in the duo.

"We are ready!" Amber yelled once the two of them ha finalized their strategies.

"Very well." Veritas waved her hand over the battlefield. "The fight begins!"

Jason and Amber spread out a bit and prepared to attack. Divine energy was had gathered a few meters away from them and was slowly taking the shape of their opponents.

[ Don't attack that. Our attacks will be absorbed by it. ] Jason warned Amber.

With the help of his vision, he could decipher that the heap of divine energy was absorbing the nearby mana and was using it to power up the creatures.

A minute later, the divine energy separated and two beings stood in front of the duo. Their appearance turned humane after another minute, shocking both Jason and Amber.

"They look exactly like us…" Amber said with a dazed expression.

Jason's mouth was slightly open as he saw a mirror version of himself standing a few meters away.

"Your opponents," Veritas grinned. "Are you only. Can you fight against your self?

***

AN: Personally, I think the quality dropped a bit in the past four to five chapters, probably because I was busy with IRL matters. But I am free now and I will try my best to deliver good content to the best of my abilities *Bows*