Disclaimer: I do not own Epic Battle Fantasy, its world, its plot, or its characters! They belong to Matt Roszak. I will only be borrowing these elements for the purpose of this story, not for any monetary/physical profit on my part.

Warnings: Blood, language, violence, attempted suicide

A/N: So, for those of you who read my other works have probably noticed that I've slowed down a lot with the update speed of my stories. I promise that that's not because I'm not writing, or because I've dropped a story. I plan to finish each and every one of my stories, and do make an effort to do so almost daily. The problem is that now that I've really gotten into writing, my mind has split in several dozen directions with (in my humble opinion) awesome story plots, and the ideas flow easier for some plots then others before shifting, seemingly at random, to a different story entirely. Mortals, Gods, and Demons is one of those plot ideas that took wing and actually managed to get finished. So without further ado, enjoy the story!

"Come, Matt the swordsman, come to the ruins of Goldenbrick," a soft voice whispered.

Matt's head jerked up from where it had been leaning on his arm. He wildly looked around the inn common room for whoever had spoken. His blue eyes scanned the meager crowd, but he saw no one looking his way. He hadn't really expected to see anyone actually taking to him, either. The voice hadn't really been heard so much as he'd felt it. He couldn't think of who or what would be trying to contact him telepathically. He doubted any of his friends had gained psychic powers since he'd last seen them two months ago.

Food being set down in front of him distracted Matt's attention from puzzling over the strange voice. He began to eat the roast ham, and put the phenomenon out of thought. By the time he'd finished eating, he'd forgotten about the strange call. It wasn't until evening when he was relaxing in bed at the same inn that he was reminded of the call.

"Come, Matt the swordsman, come to the ruins of Goldenbrick," the soft voice whispered again.

Matt sat up straight and said aloud, "Who are you?" There was no reply and after a few minutes, Matt flopped back down. "Fine, you don't give me a name, you don't get a meeting," he muttered as he rolled onto his side. As he drifted to sleep, he figured that disembodied and nameless voices were bound to bring nothing but trouble, anyway.

Two days later, Matt was gritting his teeth as he walked down the street of Goldenbrick Resort. Every three hours for the past two days, the voice would call to him. It never said anything new, always the same summons. He'd tried ignoring it, but it persisted until he'd finally caved and taken the slimecat to Goldenbrick. Apparently, the voice didn't know that he was already in Goldenbrick and on his way, because it called again.

"Come Matt the swordsman, come to the ruins of Goldenbrick."

"I'm on my damn way, so shut up," Matt snapped loudly. He flushed when a group of men shot him baffled and mildly irritated looks. "Not you, sorry," Matt apologized as he hurried past them. He grumbled to himself that he probably looked insane.

The swordsman walked past the altar where the red jewel of Goldenbrick sat, glinting in the early afternoon sun. He stepped past the ruined arch that marked the entrance to the ruins of Godcat's Temple and stopped. "I'm here, now what do you want?" Matt asked in an irritable tone.

"Higher, climb higher," the voice replied.

Matt started at actually receiving a reply. He frowned and asked, "How high are we talking here?"

"The peak," the voice murmured.

"And I know this isn't a trap, how?" Matt grumbled to himself.

Still, Matt made his way to the slimecat and used it to warp himself to the peak of the ruins. He looked around at the ruined columns and buildings of the once-grand temple to Godcat. He hadn't been here since he and the others had fought the goddess' twin avatars. Nothing really seemed to have changed at all, but he felt something in the air. There was a sort of tension to the atmosphere, and it put him on edge.

With his hand loosely resting on the hilt of his trusty Heaven's Gate, Matt walked down the marble walkway to the very peak of the temple. He arrived at the site and saw nothing. No one sat anywhere around. There were no cats yowling to their creator. There weren't even any Mage Birds perched on the stone outcroppings. He cast another glance around the abandoned site and confirmed there was nothing there.

"I'm here, so show yourself," Matt demanded.

"Finally," the voice sighed.

In a flash of light, a large white creature appeared to stand in the center of the pillars. It looked like a cat but unlike any cat Matt had ever seen, including Godcat. It had legs and stood on all four at once; still its head nearly reached the same height as his own. Its fur was white at first glance, but shimmered with various colors as the creature moved to sit neatly in front of him. It exuded an aura of power and grace and its clear blue eyes gleamed with intelligence and power. The cat's mouth opened and, to Matt's shock, it spoke.

"I never thought getting you here would be so trying," the cat rumbled. "It has been awhile, hasn't it, Matt?"

Matt took a fearful half-step back and drew Heaven's Gate. In the next instant, he lunged at the glowing cat, knowing who it was. Though the form was significantly different, the creature before him was, without a doubt, Godcat. He brought his weapon down on the goddess' neck only to stagger as it slipped through her form.

Godcat seemed amused, "Please put away your sword. I merely wish to talk. Besides, a light weapon won't work on me. I think you'll find that I resist many elements now."

Matt scowled at the goddess in front of him. He switched to Anarchy in a flash of light and swung again. The blade once again slipped through Godcat and struck the ground. Still, he tried swinging a few more times to be sure. Suddenly, he was knocked back with massive white paws on his shoulders. Matt swallowed and stared up at Godcat, thinking this was the end.

Godcat merely sat down on his legs, pinning him to the ground. She cocked her head as she looked down at him, her tail flicked with amusement. "Now that you've settled down, I have a favor to ask," she said.

The swordsman's jaw dropped. He snapped it shut and he said flatly, "A favor. You called me all the way up here for two and a half days for a favor?"

"Would you rather I'd called you all the way up here to kill you?" Godcat asked in an amused tone, tail still flicking.

"No, no, I prefer you ask a favor," Matt said hastily. He had no doubt that she could easily kill him while he had no back up. He cautiously tried to push up against the weight pinning him down, and was surprised when Godcat moved off of him to allow him to sit up. "But seriously, what the hell can I do that you can't?" Matt asked as he sat up and rolled his shoulders to relieve the ache of having them stepped on.

"A lot of things now," Godcat admitted. "While I've regained my true form, and have set my children up on a new world, I've found I'm bound to this planet. Perhaps because I created it, perhaps because of long exposure to it; I do not know. But whatever the reason, I cannot stray from it for long. A pity, really, since I am far weaker here now that my children live elsewhere."

"Strong enough to avoid being slain," Matt grumbled.

"A fair and true point, at least for now," Godcat agreed. Her eyes took on a serious gleam, "I need you to slay a demon for me, Matt. An arch demon called the Heldren."

Matt tilted his head, and asked, "Why? And why not go do it yourself?"

Godcat's fur bristled and her lips pulled back in an expression of irritation, revealing white fangs. "Were you not listening to me just now? I am too weak now to kill it myself. I cannot even stray far from places built to my power, which is the reason I've called you here rather than going to you. As for why, the Heldren is an arch demon for a reason. It will not be satisfied until it has razed this entire world, and all the creatures on it."

Matt nodded his understanding, and gave a shrug, "I'm always up for killing stuff. Where's this arch demon Heldren, and do I need to find my friends first?"

"You should be enough on your own, and time is short," Godcat replied with a faint hint of relief in her voice at his agreeance. "It is in a cave in the center of the forest south of Whitefall. The Heldren should still be relatively weak, having only just been summoned."

"Aw, it's weak?" Matt pouted. "That's no fun. Will it be more fun to kill if I wait a few days?"

Godcat's eyes narrowed as she warned, "Wait a few days and it will certainly have more fun killing you. Within just four days, it will make our fight a year ago look like a battle against a slime, and it will be far less friendly to your species than I. Light is its weakness, as is true for most demons. Good luck." With that, Godcat vanished.

Matt frowned and picked himself up, staring at the spot Godcat had sat. The goddess had seemed genuinely afraid of the Heldren, and he supposed that meant it was a real threat. The swordsman retrieved Anarchy from where it lay on the ground and switched it back out for Heaven's Gate. With a final glance at where Godcat had sat, he turned to head back to the slimecat.

A/N: And there is chapter one! Chapters will probably vary in length here because the whole story is actually in one document about 22,500 words long. Dropping all of it at once would be too much in one go, so I just pull each section out where it feels like a natural enough of a stopping point. Anyway, leave me a review to tell me what you think, and I'll be back tomorrow with a new chapter!