The location that Herzblatt sent me led me to the other side of Styx from where I was. From the rocky coasts, I flew to a relatively flat region of grasslands and plains. The outlines of the great peaks that I trained on were just barely in vision.

  Atop the grasslands was a large encampment with a massive tent in the middle like a big white onion. It was reminiscent of the sprawling tent settlements of the Dragon Emperor. In fact, I thought that I could identify a few tents that were from that specific camp out. It made sense, Yóulóng’s camp had been reportedly harmed and driven to higher rungs. But, this was far too populous to fit with the small group of retainers that he intended to save.

  I was directed to land directly in the center of the tents, nearest to the massive tent. Well-equipped demons milled around, giving me wary looks, but tolerating my presence so long I didn’t cause any problems.

  A stream of demons were pouring into the large tent. Some sort of meeting was going on. It looked like most of the encampment was heading inside.

  I didn’t see Herzblatt amongst the demons. He must have just given me a general location. That, or he was already inside. I sent him a message stating that I was there and waited for further directions.

  I was interested to see what had become of the dog priest after our separation. If he was in such a large group, he must have chosen a patron to follow. Which one? And, would we have to come to blows in the eventuality that I made my own play for the top?

  A sound of a return message went off in my head.

  Come in.

  I tilted my head at the message. Where? But, as soon as I posed the question in my mind, I heard the sound of tent flaps opening up. Two demons opened an alternate threshold to the large tent. They wore austere white robes paired with extravagant bangles and necklaces and other accessories.

  “The guest is welcomed inside,” one of the attendants said, beckoning me inside.

  “You might have me mistaken for someone else,” I said reflexively. “I’m looking for a dog priest. His name is Herzblatt.”

  “Then, you are Ishmael,” the other attendant said. “You are in the right place and the Pope awaits you inside.”

  “The Pope?” I asked in incredulity.

  God damn it all, Herzblatt, what weird shit is this? Part of me wanted to back away immediately upon hearing of the dog’s promotion. But, the other part at least wanted to see the rest of this out. If it wasn’t what I hoped for…well, I had solutions to that.

  I followed the invitation and moved into the tent. Inside, I found what I expected to find in a place that housed a pope. It was a massive auditorium filled with rows and rows of pews. Each seat had a demon plastered in it, eagerly waiting for whatever address they were about to hear.

  There were many paintings in the style of the great renaissance painters. Countless depictions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary placed in golden frames. There were enough crosses to fill the room of every grandmother in the Southern United States.

  In the center of the room sat a large chair of red velvet. Sitting atop that chair, watching me approach with a disturbingly friendly expression was Herzblatt.

  “Hello, Ishmael,” Herzblatt greeted. “It’s been some time since we’ve last seen each other. Everyone, allow me to introduce you to my Prophet. Without him, we would not be here.”

  Applause surrounded me and I looked around in confusion. The horde of demons that populated the tent looked at me with too much kindness in their eyes, too much sickeningly sweet admiration for my appetite. I recoiled in discomfort at the attention, willing them to look at me by delivering the cruelest expression I could conjure.

  But, it only seemed to bring them more joy.

  “Herzblatt,” I responded with a tempered tone. “I must say that I’m surprised to hear that you are the Pope.”

  “You like it?” Herzblatt asked with a laugh. He reached up for his towering white hat and removed it from his head. “I didn’t follow the Pope, but I was always fascinated by the power that he commanded. If I am to make a new denomination of faith, then I am allowed to take and use whatever I want.”

  “You must take whatever is offered,” the demons on the pews spoke in unison.

  “A new denomination?”

  “Of course,” Herzblatt replied eagerly. “To say that I was stricken with divine inspiration wouldn’t possibly do it justice. I have found myself as the vessel to house the intention of God himself. Not only do I use the chances that are given to me in great abundance from on high, I am also the one that can lead others to their chances. Think of it, a mortal that can deliver to others the opportunities of above.”

  “Oh boy.”

  I was worried for nothing; the guy was still a nutcase. That was all that it took to become the Pope of a faith that I didn’t think was all that new. In fact, I’m pretty sure most weren’t militant fatalists like Herzblatt.

  “And they made you Pope?” I asked.

  “Oh, heavens no,” Herzblatt laughed. “I appointed myself because God allowed it. If He didn’t approve of it, wouldn’t there been some force to stop me? Even if He’s not the overseer of this realm, His reach is still all-encompassing. This hat resting peacefully atop my head is the only proof needed to assert my legitimacy.”

  “Well, it seems that people took to the message,” I commented, looking around the spacious tent.

  “Of course, who wouldn’t be moved to learn what I had learned? The disenfranchised, the unambitious; those that had given up on any upward movement. I spoke to them in the town squares and the fields. I spoke to them outside of Dungeons and at the border of the third rung. I showed them my trajectory and gave them their own chance to do the same. These people would never have dreamed of going higher until I showed them it was possible, until I uplifted them with these two hands. This is but the logical conclusion of showing the world my sincerity.”

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  I was driven to near speechlessness. Was a modicum of hope all people needed to change so radically as to follow a dog wearing an oversized hat? Were there truly so many people waiting for change to come to them that it could populate an entire stretch of land the size of a suburb?

  “It’s all thanks to you,” Herzblatt continued. “Without you grabbing my head and twisting it towards the light, my eyes would have remained blind. I would have been ignorant to the true workings of the world, just another sacrifice used by those that knew the truth and kept it to themselves. You don’t know how overjoyed I was to hear from you. Tell me, how much have you grown since we’ve last met?”

  “I have been given many chances to grow stronger,” I answered. “It was painful, but what power isn’t?”

  “Precisely!” Herzblatt shouted. “That’s what I’ve been telling everyone. Face hardships, but it is not necessary to face them alone.”

  Another round of applause filled the room at the words of Herzblatt. I had to at least give him credit that he delivered his words with a charismatic flair that did not exist in his former reserved self.

  “Pope! I have been given an opportunity!”

  All the heads turned to see a demon rise from their seat. They wore a white robe with a hood that obscured their form.

  “An opportunity for what?” Herzblatt asked eagerly. “What has been brought to you?”

  The demon flipped up their hood. A bat’s head appeared. They wore a scowl that trembled with hatred. Their gaze burned through everything in its path to reach its desired target, the object of their opportunity.

  Me.

  “Revenge,” the bat demon declared. “That man left me to rot in the bottom of the Bowels after stealing away our oppressor's corpse. We were weak and helpless. Only I made it."

  “Poppet,” I said with a smile. “You got out of the Bowels. I knew that you had what it took.”

  “Shut up!” Poppet roared, tears of fury beading in her little eyes. “Do you know how much I had to suffer to get out of the Bowels with all of my stolen XP taken away from me? I could barely kill monsters. I had to scrape and bite and fight for a new Portal just to get out. If it wasn’t for find Pope Herzblatt, I don’t know what would have become of me.”

  “But, you’re stronger now,” I complimented.

  I did genuinely mean it. Poppet’s posture was improved. She looked more confident, more powerful. Still, she didn’t look that far above Level 25; a far cry away from being able to challenge me as a peer, but I would welcome it anyways out of respect for what she had accomplished so far.

  “I plan on showing you just how much stronger I’ve become,” Poppet roared. “I already exacted my revenge on my other target. But, I’m sure that he would be just as eager to take a bite out of you as I am. Isn’t that right, Pylicles?”

  I followed Poppet’s gaze to find the hulking shape of the spider centaur pressed to the side of the tent. Unlike Poppet, Pylicles seemed much less interested in meeting my gaze.

  “Pylicles? You’re going to join Poppet in her opportunity for revenge?” Herzblatt asked excitedly.

  “No,” the spider said softly.

  “NO?!?!”

  I did not see Herzblatt move, but the pope was already atop of Pylicles. He growled at his follower. Slobber dripped down his teeth and spilled over his lip, forming a small pool on the floor. The other demons recoiled in disgust towards the group’s new pariah.

  “What do you mean, no?” Herzblatt demanded. “You have been handed an opportunity by Poppet, an opportunity from me, and an opportunity from God. What say you to spit in my hands when I open them with a chance?”

  “I-I,” Pylicles started to stammer. “I am merely turning this opportunity for revenge into an opportunity for reconciliation.”

  “Reconciliation?” Herzblatt questioned, his lip still raised menacingly.

  “Yes, Your Holiness. Reconciliation. The demon before us is extremely powerful, far more powerful than myself. We all can see that. Wouldn’t I gain far more opportunities for growth by working through our past disagreements and forging an alliance? E-especially if this person is your friend?”

  Herzblatt’s aggression was dunked into a pool of ice water. In an instant the dog priest backed away and straightened his robes.

  "An opportunity for reconciliation..." Herzblatt muttered to himself. "I suppose that it an opportunity."

  “You’re smart, Pylicles, but you’re a fucking coward,” I said. “Don’t worry, I won’t harass you any longer. Since you are still here, it must mean that you can’t go back down to where you are comfortable. How did that realization feel? Were you relieved that strong demons couldn’t come down to kill you all that time? Or did you feel foolish that you wasted all that time worrying about it?”

  “Both,” Pylicles answered, not looking at me.

  “Then enough has been done to you to satisfy me.”

  “And with that opportunity, our follower, Pylicles, has lost a potential enemy and gained a potential friend,” Herzblatt said to the crowd. “If he did not take that chance, then he would have gained neither outcome. Now, let’s see what revenge will give follower Poppet.”

  Poppet stood across from me. She summoned a pair of daggers and gritted her teeth. I could see her knees quivering under the pressure of my [Crimson Aura]. This couldn’t even be described as David vs Goliath. It was something far more lopsided.

  “Don’t you feel it?” I asked. “The gulf between us? Don’t you see my crimson aura and wish to flee? Are you sure that you are capable?”

  “Even death is an opportunity,” Poppet said through gritted teeth. “If I die, I will learn something about fighting you that I wouldn’t by hiding.”

  “Very well,” I replied with a nod of respect. “I’ll show you something worth remembering.”

  I charged right at Poppet. My [Crimson Aura] seized her body. She couldn’t defend herself even if she tried. With the ample time given to me, I pulled back my arm and delivered a punch that nearly erased her from existence. A cloud of red mist hung in the air over the worshippers. Their white robes became speckled with blood as they watched the failed revenge with awe.

  “This is what it looks like, everyone!” Herzblatt screamed. “This is what taking every single opportunity, no matter the cost, looks like. Poor Poppet is early on her journey, but Ishmael is what resides further up all of our paths.”

  I allowed the applause to happen. That execution put me in a good mood. It’s always nice to see familiar faces.

  “Now, Ishmael, why is it that you have come to visit me?” Herzblatt asked. “I know you’re not the type to just want to catch up.”

  “I am trying to figure out what to do,” I answered plainly. “I was hoping you would help me reach some clarity.”

  “I will certainly do my best to draft up a suitable opportunity,” Herzblatt answered serenely. “Tell me, what is the rock that blocks your path?”

  “I have an enemy that I wish to defeat. They reside in Styx and are taking full advantage of the city’s sole rule to escape from my wrath. I could always let it go and move on, but something inside me tells me I will feel unfulfilled if I do that.”

  “Yes, the no killing rule is a wonderful opportunity for newer arrivals like ourselves, but it can also be used to stymie your path. You cannot exact revenge by yourself as the punishment will guarantee you are at the mercy of your foe. I actually witnessed the results first hand, they appeared extremely painful.”

  “I agree, I am not well suited for this task.”

  “Nobody is best equipped for every task,” Herzblatt stated, more for his followers than for me. “But, what if thousands of people attempted to kill your foe all at once? They can’t kill all of us, can they?”

  A chuckle slipped through my lips and quickly became uproarious laughter. Even Charles couldn’t foresee that I would bring an entire army with him to rip him out of his shell.

  “But I want something in return,” Herzblatt said.

  “What is it?”

  “I have assembled this following based on only myself. Unlike the recruiters with powerful backers, we have no one. I want to change that, I want to give my followers a symbol to fight for, an opportunity to matter in the great game above. If we succeed, I want only one thing from you. Become our sponsor. Become our king.”