Chapter 72 - Finality and Fate (Patreon)

Rose’s soul left her body, departing The Sun and traveling back to Heimfold, to her second phylactery. She arrived at The Shadow Isle in Moonsorrow Bay, and reconstituted her form. The dark cave was impossible to see in – unless one was undead or devoted wholly to Umbra. She opened the emergency crate and put on a set of robes, grabbed a spell tool in the form of an intricate bracelet, and slipped on her secondary phylactery-ring.

My last one.

She couldn’t afford to split her soul again. What came back wouldn’t be her anymore. The ring caused her undead appearance to fade and her regal one grew over it.

“Well, you survived after all.”

Rose wheeled on the voice and saw Umbra in her shadowy form walk from the side of the cavern. “Yes. I always have a backup plan.”

Umbra smirked, “Oh? And what do you plan to do now?”

“Go to Bastion. Go to Haven.” Rose’s eyes sparked with wonder and curiosity. “There is so much to learn.”

“Ugh,” Umbra chuckled after fake gagging, “Just like Slate. Always on about knowledge. Well, you’re going to need more than just your spell tool.” She gestured to the shadowy font deeper in the cave that oozed out primoridial darkness, and a blackened Aether Shard rose up. “You’re going to need one of these if you want to use your Domain.”

Rose raised her eyebrow quizzically, “Why?”

“Slate wants you to learn. To grow. To eventually, with time, become not a high priest of his cult to knowledge…but something of a librarian. Why horde all your knowledge if not to share it eventually?”

Rose thought on that for a moment, “But I’m not making any pacts. No promises, either.”

“That’s right. This is a gesture of goodwill. Slate will find you when you’re ready.”

Rose walked over to the font and picked up the Aether Shard as it resumed its usual appearance, “Very well.” She lifted herself with gravity magic and sped out of the cave, towards Bastion. Towards the utopian world of technomancy and the first world in The Universe.

Echo and Fumi held hands as Vythin approached them, the dragon God turning back to his humanoid form. “And it is done. Lux slain, her Afterlife and miracles mine to manage.” He grinned, “I can’t thank you two enough.”

“Did you know?” Echo asked. Vythin looked quizzically at him. “Did you know when I first died. When I arrived at Last Light Temple. When I was judged and given this second chance…did you know this would all happen?”

Vythin shook his head, “Not even Slate – a true God of knowledge – can know the future. Only the possibilities that may happen.” He frowned slightly and put a hand on Echo’s shoulder, “Kalinor has some ability to see the future, but only hints – not the true paths that our ally can see laid out.” He smiled and gestured up towards Heimfold, far off in the distance, a sphere of color and vibrance. “We both love this world. We grew up here. I may have moved on, but Kalinor still has a fondness for it.” He looked back to Echo, “And thanks to you, I can keep watch over it for the rest of eternity.”

Fumi walked up and gave Vythin a hug, “You brought us together. Thank you…you ended my loneliness.”

Echo nodded and smiled. He glanced over to where Rose had fallen and walked over to pick up the spell tool. With a simple transmutation spell, he turned the Brightsteel into a ring, the stone into dust, and embedded the Aether Shard into the ring. Walking back to Fumi he knelt, “Fumi Medrana Xulatar…will you marry me?”

Fumi smiled and knelt, grabbing Echo, and lifting him up to standing height. “In my culture, we are equal. You are the warrior; I am your shadow. Two halves of a whole…No kneeling.” She grabbed the ring and slipped it onto her finger, “I accept.”

The two used Fumi’s space Affinity to teleport back to Heimfold, arriving in Saint’s Hold and entering The Guild Hall. They had repressed all their monstrous Innate Abilities – save for their black eyes.

The Guild was going about its business as usual. There was some chatter about how Lux had suddenly changed and was giving out new orders to her priests.

Vythin is keeping the people down here in the dark about the change.

It was probably for the best, Echo reasoned. Too much of a shift could cause big issues. They made their way upstairs, to Isaac’s office, and he knocked on the door. Willow answered and let them in. Isaac was sitting on a cushion and gestured for the two monsters to come in and join him.

Feast…

Echo pushed the instinct aside with ease. He bowed after sitting in seiza and switched to Gori/Japanese. “Thank you for seeing us.”

Isaac laughed and slapped his knee, “It’s I who should be thanking you!” His wife brought tea over and began to serve them. “You two are astonishing. Remarkable.” He leaned forward, “What are your plans now?”

Fumi frowned slightly, “We are too strong to adventure. Everything would die too quickly.”

Isaac nodded, “Makes sense. I know you wanted to travel Heimfold. Is that still your plan?”

Fumi nodded with a grin, “We’re going to run and see everything.”

Echo chuckled and put an arm around Fumi’s shoulder, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “She insists flying doesn’t give the same view.”

“Very true,” Willow said as she sat next to Isaac. “I’ve seen the world from above with Isaac. It is beautiful, but in a different way.”

Isaac nodded as he stroked his beard. “After you travel…what then?”

Echo glanced at Fumi, and she explained her idea. Isaac alternated between serious contemplation, occasional guffaws, and solemn nodding.

“It’s a brilliant idea,” he concluded. “I’ll get some New Gods on board and we can make sure that it works as you intend.”

The monsters, the Guildmaster, and his wife spoke for several hours hammering out the details before the two departed, going to their adventurer apartment.

“Narya! We’re home!”

The pixie flew into the main hall from the kitchen and squeed with delight. “Eeeh! She’s back!” She flew over to Fumi and gave her a big hug before flitting in front of her and giving her a little slap. “Don’t you die again!”

Fumi glowered for a second before cracking her serious demeanor with a soft smile, “I won’t.”

Narya gestured to the kitchen and pointed at Echo, “I just finished shopping. Help me cook.”

Echo chuckled and followed her, feeling at peace for the first time in a long time.

Seasons passed as Echo and Fumi ran across the breadth of Heimfold. They ran through the deserts of Lestosk, marveling at the various ruins that were scattered across the land. They flew North to the Essence Isles and spent several weeks spending significant vacation and beach time in the Mediterranean-esque environs. They flew back and ran all across the Vaysha Rift, jumping from tree to tree and visiting the various Tribal cultures. To the Kingdom of Cruxia, where they were welcomed as heroes by Queen Eleanore and sat for several days in court. Across Moonsorrow Bay where they swam through the seas, Echo’s spells scaring off any wandering leviathans that came too close for comfort.

Last they traveled through the Siltar Republic, making a beeline towards The Forbidden Peaks. They had one more destination to travel to. But all throughout their travels, they found and killed monsters. Leftovers from Tiberius experiments who escaped when he had been killed. Echo did not eat them, but Fumi indulged and grew in strength.

They swam up the river, coursing up through the Forbidden Forest and reached the Peaks, finding quite a peculiar sight as they ascended a waterfall. There was an enormous fairground set up in the mountains. Several slimes wearing a variety of hats were moving about as this small city was celebrating some occasion.

The two monsters dried themselves off with a spell and walked into the odd city of slimes. It was a calm, cozy place, and they were treated with reverence, the slimes making way for them as they passed though. They were led to a large building made of ornate limestone, partially carved out of the mountains near another cascading waterfall.

Malvir sat inside at a workbench, a small, brown slime on the table next to him. He turned as the two monsters arrived. “Ah! You made it!” He slithered out of his chair and approached the two. “My, you have grown.”

Echo held out the Mimic Cube and the God of monsters squealed with delight as he grabbed it. “We did as you requested.”

Fumi crossed her arms, “What do we get?”

Malvir grinned and put the Mimic Cube into his body, the object disintegrating until only two Aether Shards floated there in his gelatinous mass. He pushed them out and handed one to Echo. “You keep that.” His form solidified and before them stood a late-teenage young man with a clean-shaven face and brown hair. “I thought about what I’d give you two, and only came up with a few options. The first one…I can remove that whole ‘kill’ part of your Evolution Instinct. You’ll still be able to eat things – people, monsters, I don’t care – and gain power. But you won’t be compelled. Or-”

Echo cut him off, “That. We’ll take that.”

Malvir sulked slightly, “Damn. My second offer was going to be to turn you two into eldritch horrors that could consume planets. Well, your choice.” He passed his hands in front of the two and the blast of Heat surged over the duo. “It is done.”

Echo dodged sideways as the brown slime launched itself off the table towards him. It squishedonto the ground before turning around and tried to bit his shoe.

“No! Tiberius! Down! Bad boy!” Malvir walked over and stomped on the slime several times.

Echo looked at Malvir as he regarded the brown slime. “That’s Tiberius?”

Malvir nodded, “He told me how the whole fight on The Sun ended. White Rose was destroyed, and she had his soul vial. He went to the Arbiter, and because his soul is marked by me, he’s mine.”

Fumi seethed with rage and unsheathed her katana, “I never got my revenge against him.”

Malvir grinned, “Why do you think I brought him back as a slime?” He waved his hand and Tiberius-slime stopped moving, solidifying into a small jello. Malvir set the disciple-turned-slime on a nearby table. “You can kill him. Take your revenge. And this time…I’m not taking him back.” He looked over at the slime with a pang of regret and remorse. “He has to pay for what he’s done. The Arbiter of Souls will have his chance to judge what Tiberius did to all of those innocents.”

Fumi walked forward and with several cuts sliced the Tiberius-slime apart. The tiny, monstrous thing died, and a flicker of brown energy traced upwards. She sheathed her katana and looked to Malvir, “Did Isaac tell you about our plan?”

Malvir giggled, “Yes! Oh, I’m so excited!”

Tiberius appeared at Last Light Temple.

So this is it.

“It is.” A drone picked him up and dropped him in front of Kalinor’s throne. The Arbiter of Souls regarded Tiberius with stern eyes. “You have done great harm.”

I made perfection!

“True. You created a monster that could devour the Gods. Devour everything. Consume all.” Kalinor leaned forward, “But…at what cost? In your reckless desire for results, you condemned thousands to torment.”

It was worth it. Lux is dead, your husband rules The Sun and took her place…That would not have happened without me. Surely that earns me a bit of latitude.

“Still trying to connive? No. For your sins, the horrific pain you wrought on others…I sentence you to feel every single instance of that same pain. Forever.”

Tiberius felt a chill go through him as a drone carried him away to a side-corridor. He was thrown into a cell where only a scant few other souls were located.

And the pain began.

The Monster of The Guild and The Maven of the Blade walked out of the portal and onto the dead world. Far off in a distant corner of The Universe, unclaimed by any God or Goddess. A place they could mold to their desires. But it was abandoned for a reason.

Malvir and Tiberius had used this world as a testing ground when The Void was defeated. It was filled with eldritch abominations and horrors that would scare the wits out of all but the most determined warrior.

Echo and Fumi glanced at each other, grinning as the horde of monsters descended upon them. They activated all the Abilities at their disposal and charged into the horde. No longer driven by instinct, but by the desire to show off in front of each other.

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