Leon had his abilities stripped of him long ago, in his first confrontation with Hero. His team was demolished, and his mentor and father, Dan, had given his life to protect Leon. Once vast and motivated, his armies dispersed upon seeing their champions fall one by one. The kingdoms, once hopeful for their independence, now sat by idle as the power of the light grew to enormous, unrecoverable heights. The champions, the ones that survived, dispersed back into their kingdoms, blending in with their people, what was left of them.

The darkness, the civilization deemed the last bastion of hope against the swelling waves of the light. Had fallen, their armies had been eradicated, their defenses overwhelmed, and their role models, their own bastions of hope, had crumbled under the weight of the world.

It’s been ten years since the new dawn of the light, ten years since the darkness was wiped from the face of the map once again. The rebellion’s legacy was one of failure, bravery, and of sadness. Now, in the shambles that once housed thousands of members of the darkness ,few survive to tell the tales of their forefathers. They live in fear of a monster that roams the rubble, its name lost to time, its power unquestionable. Placed there by the light in an attempt to squash whatever will was left for those of the darkness.

The Darkness would not be so easily eradicated, and those who survived in the accursed wreck of the city bided their time. Some escaped, others accepted their new reality, and others refused to accept anything at all.

One such character who stood against the onslaught of terror was Walt. He had grown up whilst his mother carried him and his brother away from the horrors of the monster. He had watched as his mother was captured, tortured, and eventually dragged away. He resented the beast and idolized the champions of old. He clung to the stories of Leon and his comrades, burning their unwavering loyalty to their people and mission into his personality.

When word arrived that a man had arrived at the city, his eyes dark, his body scarred, and his armor tattered. Walt was elated, he believed that this was truly Leon, that he had survived and come back to redeem his people.

The redemption never came, and the boy took it upon himself to find the man. He had nothing left to lose, and his obsession with the champions had led him to the path of greatness. He traveled long and far, searching high and low for the man with the scar. He battled raiders, fled the beast, and eventually came upon the crashed wreck that was once the mystical floating warship manned by the champions. He found Leon, but his role model had long ago been broken. His will stripped of him along with his powers.

All Leon gave to Walt that day was a resolution, a determination to rise above and prove the world wrong. Even if he had to battle armies alone, even if it meant death, he was going to make the world shake with his step.

Walt found the beast, drew his sword, and battled. The battle raged for days, with Walt throwing everything he had at the monster. When the dust settled, and the battle ended, a man stood standing over the rubble, and it wasn’t Walt.

Leon had watched as the beast fell, and Walt collapsed from exhaustion. The boy had done it without the gifts Leon once possessed, and the feat reinvigorated the fallen champion with the determination to fight, or die. Leon rallied his people and marched to the kingdom of the light. The assault was nothing compared to the original conflict, the army Leon had raised knew they were doomed to failure, and yet, they marched on, ready to fall alongside their legend.

The armies clashed, and in the center of it all, the smoke rose around an engagement between Leon, and Hero. The battle was fierce, and largely one-sided, with Hero pummeling Leon at every turn. Leon, while severely outmatched, and aware of his impending death, resolved to die before letting Hero out of his sight.

Leon died that day, a sword plunged through his chest, his armor broken, and his sword laying by his side.His destiny however, demanded more, and so produced Tanner, the champion of the Kingdom of fire, the greatest swordsman to have ever lived. Tanner leapt into action, desperately attempting to avenge his fallen friend.

As the battle raged on, eventually the rest of the former champions came forth, inspired by the bravery of their people, and the sacrifice of their leader. They battled Hero as war waged around them, they battled Hero as they knew they would fail, they battled on whilst Hero dealt devastating blows, they battled on even as the sky above them filled with smoke.

Then, as if chosen once again by fate, Leon rose from his resting place, wielding the sword that had been used to strike him down. His eyes burned with a power that the world had never seen before. He charged into battle, and with his regained vigor, easily beat back Hero. Forcing Hero to abandon the safety of his physical form in order to become something more powerful, something undying, a word.

The champions had beaten Hero, and before they could decide what to do with him. The former conduit of his power, Brian, struck him down. Ending the era of the gods, and drawing forth a new day, a new world, in which the Heroes of the people fought for those who worshiped them.
The Heroes, now long gone, and alongside them, their powers, have been forgotten by history. The only thing that remains of their story is the name of their adversary, Hero, and the stars that sparkle above the night sky. Their story lives on around us, and in every battle, conflict, conversation, or war, their power can be felt.