I tossed the lump of jet and caught it a few times, but even after I stopped, even after I waited for like a minute, the blasted demon wouldn’t take the bait and spill.
I huffed. “Fine. Have it your way then. Uriel?”
A half second went by before I got a buzz.
Ugh. Of course it can’t be that simple. Alright, then let’s try something completely different.
Out of curiosity, I tried the Ring of Solemn man’s search trait first. I hadn’t checked what it did yet, but to my delight it came back with a sense that the area was free of blight, save for my staff and the stone in my hand.
Okay, fair enough. That’s a good ability to remember going forward, especially now that I know how much trouble that inky ick puts me in when I go up against high concentrations of it.
Next, I activated the ring’s discernment ability, and it throbbed and planted into my head the idea that the demon contained in the rock was a naturally born one that was a bit over a thousand years old. It was apparently of a more middle rank in overall power and in an agitated state–resisting me with all the strength it could muster from within its prison–which was apparently only openable from the outside.
Hah! Looks like I was right. This guy’s stuck and of no threat to me so long as that doesn’t change. I gave the ring on my right hand an appreciative once over. But man! This ring is definitely worth the effort I put in to get it! I mean, I’d have been in a lot of trouble back there without it, and even outside of combat it’s still proving super useful. My one stop shop for all my anti-blight needs!
My smile faded as I remembered the ailing face of the merchant’s son, and my face darkened further still as the wretched visage of Benedict’s soul, still fresh in my mind, came as a point of comparison.
If I hadn’t helped when I did, would he have fallen this far? Would his habit of tormenting animals have grown into tormenting people? Could his disdain for others mutate into a disdain for the world? Into apathy? Nihilism? I glared at the rock, and the living evil stored within. How dare you lead the innocent, no matter how hurt or misguided, down the wrong path! How dare you destroy their love of life! How dare you threaten this beautiful world that I’ve only just gotten to enjoy!
To my shock, the black rock, well, rocked in my hand, quivering like certain pocket sized creatures attempting to burst free from the captivity suddenly thrust upon them by children.
It wasn’t until after that I noticed the slight scent of smoke, followed by a thin trail emanating from my skin, and the near silent crackling of the air around the stone where contact was made with me.
Was I…? Was I damaging it with fury alone? Is that a thing?
I waited for an answer from either Uriel or the system, but I got nothing.
“Alright. Fine. Whatever. But if I’m going to counter these bozos’ influence then I’m gonna really need to double down on helping people so that less will wind up going astray and losing hope. Now, back to business.”
I stopped to consider my options for analysing this thing, and cast telepathy. then projected. ~Hey, stop ignoring me!~
I waited, but the voice I heard wasn’t the one I expected.
The system whispered.
Now you tell me! Criminey! But unfortunately I don’t have any spirit magic that’ll be of use here, so I guess I gotta risk the unknown powers at my disposal.
I dropped the spell, and focused on the warm energy clustered close to my core. It had grown considerably after I gained control of the Edge of Eternity, and even after using a good bit of it to fight off Benedict and cleanse the blight I still had a hefty supply stored away, and it was replenishing itself faster than before to boot.
So purge is out until I want to be rid of this thing, ??? protection is definitely the wrong choice, I have no idea what V!&(^3 or any of the abilities only labeled ??? even do, so that leaves ??? authority and ??? intervention.
I hadn’t noticed it the first time I activated it, but apparently my authority, and even those of others, use that warmth as a power source. It wasn’t until my desperate fight with Gretkarn that I realized there was a cost, even if it was really cheap in comparison to the other abilities that use the warmth. So, with it being the most economical option, and probably the safest, I focused some of my warmth into my palm and activated ??? authority.
Despite me focusing it on the demon’s stone, the simple use of this ability silenced the insects and small nocturnal critters that had only just dared to return to the area, and instilled in me the understanding that they were at my beck and call, and in them the unairing desire to obey.
They, however, weren't my target so I let them be.
I was studying the gem for any sign of reaction.
And I freaked when it suddenly cracked!
Hol’ up! Go back! Reverse! Cancel! Stop! Stop, stopstopstop!
I only barely managed to halt my ability before the sinister stone shattered completely, but after a cursory inspection from the ring’s handy dandy powers I was informed that the seal on the demon was still very much still active, but obviously damaged.
Okay. Only one option left. And from the last reaction, there’s no telling if it’ll be a good one… But I still have to try.
I leaned Witness on my shoulder, readied some power to use purge in my free hand, and then urged ??? Intervention to activate.
Light gathered around the jet in a sort of halo effect. It made rainbows shimmer and glow in the dark surface, and the cracks especially shone bright. I was afraid it’d shatter, but then my head was filled with screaming.
Unnatural, grating, grinding, groaning gushed into my mind from the demon within. Images of other demons, members of the Ascendant faith, and countless places and the faces of powerful monsters–possible terrestrial deities–flooded my unprepared skull before it all went dark.
I hadn't passed out, and the connection was still solid, but there was only darkness coming through. It took a second, but the darkness shifted as if it were alive, as if it were regarding me, as I, in turn, examined it.
A voice similar to the system’s said.
I cast out my other senses as my eyes recovered, I even used the powers of the ring, but no matter where or how far out I searched, I found no trace of the demon.
More tired than I had expected to be, I furrowed my brow, looked up at the starry sky, and sighed. “Well, great. I didn’t really learn anything new, the demon’s gone, and just like always, I have even more questions!”
#
In the unending dark, somewhere past the boundary of dream and nightmare, at the locus of insanity, sitting at the crossroads of despair, sorrow, anguish, and sin sat the Great One. A being born in ancient times, as the proud product of a mad mage’s quest for ascension, he awakened unexpectedly, subsumed his creator, tamed the powers of the world, and sought to go even further beyond.
Yet here he pondered. Here he rested. Here he waited.
He had become so powerful that he sought to absorb, usurp, or merge with the sleeping Creator God, but had been too hasty and was rejected and stranded here within the dark, where he's remained trapped ever since.
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But all was not lost.
During his active period, he left echos of himself all across the world using the transcendent power of blight, ensured that more would emerge even without him, and now used those echos to act on his behalf.
Teaching and twisting curious minds.
Misleading the gullible.
And taking advantage of the vulnerable.
All to gain further control over the system and attain freedom.
But now one of those echos called to him in desperation.
That particular one had been sealed for use in corrupting the terrestrial deities, but unfortunately that part of the plan had apparently been foiled.
Which would be fine, it's happened before, but…
~An apostle! An apostle of the Creator has escaped from the garden! The Ascendants have failed! It is killing me!~
The Great one rolled its eyes. Pfft. I made you immortal, unbreakable, so why are all my demons so overly dramatic the first time they meet a fragment of light? Yes, it hurts, but it’s not even one of those blasted heroes who can seal them here with me, so there’s no reason to–?!
Suddenly, he felt his connection to the demon strain, utter anguish he’d felt only once before wracked his mind, and in shock he reflexively gazed through the demon at the one responsible and was even more startled to see that he too was being watched in return.
He gasped.
And in an overpowering jolt sent straight to the brain, he felt the demon be completely snuffed out by the light.
#
“Hrrm.” I furrowed my brow as I stared at my empty palm. “The system said that the demon is resistant to magic, not immune, so I guess I can try to rewind time right?”
Localized reversal.
Mana flowed out into the air around my hand and a deep black bubble formed around it. It was extremely weird feeling time flow backwards over my fingers, kinda like a slimy gloop being drug across my skin, but when the bubble vanished, my hand was still empty.
“Well, darn. But I suppose it was worth a try… Though maybe I should have done so before it broke… Too late now.”
I rolled my stiff shoulders in defeat, grabbed False Witness, and activated shifted steps several times until I was back at the castle rooftop. I really didn’t feel great after losing a demon, getting no definite answer on how to purify my staff, and having to judge yet another soul as if I had any right to do so, so I was really hoping to see some smiling faces upon my return.
Heck! Maybe Calden’s awake!
My face fell as I cast my senses over the castle interior. “Oh no. No, no, no.”
In an instant I shifted into Calden’s room behind the crowd of concerned or crying onlookers gathered in the hall staring at the lifeless Count still lying on the floor in a somewhat fresh pool of his own blood, right next to a withered and equally dead Shade.
I knew he had passed as Uriel conveyed his status as simply: deceased, but accepting it was another matter. Sure, I didn’t know him all that well, but given that Ysdra was balling her eyes out while gripping his increasingly clammy hand, that both his stout hearted sons were locked in stone faced tunnel vision, and that Calden would have to wake to find that his dependable uncle figure has perished was just gut wrenching.
But why? How did this happen? Oh, duh, I can just look. Glimpse the past.
Like before, a black ringed screen opened in front of me revealing the sordid events that led to Linus’ end. It started several days prior, and quickly ran through it all before closing at his death.
Goodness. I knew he was working himself hard, but to push himself to the point where a swordsman of his caliber struggled against a magically aged assassin is just… heartbreaking. I mean, how many feudal lords in history would ever work themselves so much for the sake of their people? How many would personally go to tend to a guest no matter how friendly their terms? And how many would so readily die to defend them? …Okay, maybe that last one falls under expected noble decorum, but still, the world is now a lesser place without him.
“Master A–Anon.” Sharp eyed as ever, Carmella was the first to spot me in the shadows of the hallway, not an easy feat given the wall of sobbing maids, grim faced guards, and gloomy manservants between us. She ceased her examination of the Count’s remains, bowed, and asked as the semicircle of people parted. “I was just trying to determine how their struggle played out.” Her usually controlled voice and countenance cracked. “I–I… forgive me for asking… but, do you know how it happened? How the assassin got in?”
I clasped both hands on False Witness’ gnarled haft and nodded slowly. “I do. But perhaps this should be discussed in the morning? In a more… private locale? After this has been cleaned up?”
She averted her glittering eyes to Linus’ face, whipped a handkerchief out of thin air to blow her nose, and nodded. “Yes.”
Ysdra seemed to perk up when she registered my voice, and mustered what strength she had left to stagger away from her fallen father and through the sympathetic crowd to bury her crinkled and red face in my gut. “A–Anon. Y–you can bring him back right? H–he’s not dead right? E–everything will be okay right?”
Her muffled, trembling, voice accented with snotty sniffles and desperate squeezes just about tore my heart out. So the only question remained. Uriel? Can I?
I half expected it this time, but the system answered instead.
I sucked in a bitter breath of cool castle air that chilled me to the core. Time to do the hard part then.
I gently combed my fingers through her golden hair a few times, and watched as the fleeting hope held in the eyes of the adults sublimated into sobbing. Her grip on my waist tightened at the sound, and I wrapped her up in a hug. “Have faith that you’ll see him again, and you will. Until then, hold tight to those you still have, and remember that he’s still with you, in every breath, every beat of your heart, and every fiber of your being. Remember him, and on the day I bring him back to you it’ll be as if he never even left.”
For some reason Carmella let out a very emotional wail before breaking down entirely, but to my knowledge there wasn’t anything going on between her and Linus, so I guess my words resonated with her or something. Though I still kinda wish I could do more.
Uriel buzzed.
I refrained from making a face that revealed or even hinted at my dissatisfaction, and quietly continued to comfort Ysdra while she wept. Well, that’s not what I meant, but I guess I got what I asked for, so, go me? Though it just had to be my least favorite activity didn’t it?
I focused a bit, and before long the spectral pair became apparent to me. It was pretty obvious who they were, given the recent deaths, but they varied wildly from what I expected.
They weren’t spectral versions of themselves, ghostly green and translucent, but vaguely humanoid silhouettes in varying shades of white, stained black or gray in certain spots–or for Shade, most places.
Weird. I would’ve thought that the Count’s soul would be purer than it is but even he looks pretty tarnished. Plus, why haven’t they left for the hereafter yet? Best I can tell they’ve been dead for about half an hour, so why stick around?
Uriel buzzed.
I watched the pair of souls for a while, Linus’ knelt the moment I first gazed upon it, but Shade’s took an almost guarded stance against me–though it did appear that he was unable to flee or fight, as each time he tried to move he was returned to his current place.
I guess the kinder option would be to do as Uriel and the system want right? If they’re just going to disappear if I don’t then I should at least do something. But, what even are my options? I did reincarnation for Benedict assuming it would work, and destroyed that lich albeit unintentionally, but I never considered what else I could do.
The system answered.
I shut my eyes. Then that makes this easier. Punish Shade, and send Linus to heaven I guess? That’s what that garbly gook meant, right? I internally frowned. I’m not gonna lie. If that is what it meant, it feels pretty weird to be the one deciding who gets to go to heaven.
The system whispered.
After that, their souls kinda just vanished. There was no flash, no white light, or expenditure of mana, they just simply weren’t there anymore.
I felt Ysdra’s grip loosen a little, and took the opportunity to crouch down and kiss her forehead. For whatever reason, that seemed to calm her a good bit more, and I finally allowed myself to relax.
And then Silvia came crashing down the hall nearly knocking down the gathered onlookers before grinding to a carpet destroying halt mere feet from me. “Master Boss! Master Boss! The captured lady is gone! She burrowed out like a rabbit while Silvia was gone!”
I, naturally, froze. What? Soaria is loose? No. Of course she is. This is just more of my carelessness catching up to me. So what do I want to do about it? Do I just drag her back with magic? Do I hunt her down and teach her a lesson? Or do I just let her go and focus on the problems here? I mean she did seem pretty terrified of me, so she probably won’t come back… Though there I go again, thinking careless things when I could just as easily nip this problem in the bud. Then my eyes caught someone dressed in all white sitting at Calden’s bedside. Rather it was more that they were completely white and kinda faint and see through too. Hol’ up. Is that a ghost?