Chapter 18 - Reckoning (Patreon)

Echo stalked towards him. “Hey! Rickard! Remember me?” He could feel rage boiling up inside of him. The man who had fled, abandoning his allies. The one who stole his gear. The one who left them all to die.

The cleric turned to him before running off down the street.

“You bastard! Get back here!” Echo sprinted after the man, Fumi on his heels.

The two were barely able to keep up, exhausted as they were from their training bout. But Echo pushed onwards, determined to catch him. Determined to make Rickard pay for his betrayal.

The two sprinted across the capital, blowing past guards, citizens, shopkeepers, and heedless of any save for their prey.

Eventually, Rickard ducked into a large, white stone building that looked like a temple from ancient Greece. Echo followed him in.

The building interior lent credence to the fact that this was holy ground of some type. A large symbol made of worked gold hung above a white altar covered with a bright yellow cloth. There was a priest behind the altar, holding some type of religious service.

A service that was quickly interrupted as Rickard ran to the altar, pulling out his war hammer – much more ornate than the last one Echo saw him with – and pointed at the two. “This is holy ground! Get out!”

Echo reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out his Tempeststeel sword, turning slightly as people began to file out past him. “I don’t give a shit.” He stalked forward, dragging the tip of the blade behind him as it carved into the ground, leaving a groove in the smooth marble.

The two priests fled into a set of doors leading to somewhere behind the altar.

Rickard raised his hand, “Light of Lux, smite the wicked, Radiant Burst!” a blast of yellow-white light surged forward from his holy symbol hung around his chest.

Echo flicked his blade, his Magic Resistance far higher than whatever feeble Magic Potency Rickard had. The bolt went spinning off into the wall, leaving a sear mark. He strode up to the cleric and gripped the hammer, wrenching it out of the man’s grip. “Are you afraid?”

Rickard’s expression was unreadable, hidden behind Echo’s old helmet. The voice that emerged was filled with panic. “You-you can’t hurt me here! I-I-I’m a cleric of Lux!”

Echo reached up and ripped the helmet off the man’s head, channeling his ring and putting the helmet back into the pocket dimension. “You should be afraid of me.” He held his sword up to Rickard’s throat and the cleric, having seen the difference in their stats, stood silently. A small puddle formed at his feet. Echo felt immense satisfaction at the now-visible fear on his face. Horror at the difference between their power.

Fumi walked up behind Echo, fully in her warrior mode. “What did he do?”

Echo growled, “He abandoned us. He stole from me. He is a traitor.”

Fumi rapidly unsheathed her blade, “Traitors should die.”

Rickard whimpered, “Y-y-you can’t kill me here! Lux will smite you!”

Echo frowned, “If she lets scum like you into her ranks, then I don’t give one fuck about that bitch of a Goddess.” He let the blade slice Rickard’s skin just enough to make him bleed. “How does it feel? Being trapped with a foe who overwhelms you? Because that’s what happened to me.”

Rickard collapsed from fear, his wits leaving him.

Echo put his sword back in the pocket dimension, giving Rickard a kick to the ribs – holding back enough to not kill the man - before turning around to leave. Fumi sheathed her blade and followed.

Lux sat in pure, divine luxury on The Sun – her afterlife. Not just a celestial body that brought light to Heimfold, but also housed her personal paradise. Surrounded by the souls of her worshippers in heavenly bliss.

And one living worshipper cried out to her. One of her chosen who enacted her will had a much louder prayer than the masses. She closed her eyes and focused on one of her cleric’s pleas for help.

She snapped her fingers and channeled her Heat – her divine power – as the cleric appeared in front of her in a flash of white.

“What do you ask of your Goddess?”

Rickard stood, in shock, suddenly transported to The Sun while alive – near unheard of in the modern day. He immediately prostrated himself.

“My lady, Echo Asheron. Please, smite him.”

She raised her eyebrow, channeling her Heat to investigate Rickard’s mind. What she saw infuriated her more than anything in the past decade. She saw through Rickard’s eyes. The blasphemer. The…unnatural…abomination!

“He came into my temple with weapon drawn!” Her stern face grew even more stony with wrath. She manifested her Heat once more and performed a miracle. Instantly learning everything there was to know about the specific subject. And what she saw sickened her.

A monster in human form. A man who ate the flesh of his allies. Who ate innocents transformed into hideous abominations.

He must die.

She shook her head, “I cannot smite him directly. That would violate divine treaties.” She grinned as she walked down to the cleric, lifting his chin up to meet her golden gaze. “But I can empower you. Train you. Make you a paladin. Send you back to enact my will.”

Rickard’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Thank you, my Goddess. I’ll give you everything.”

Lux grinned, hiding her rage at the perversion of her creation. “You will bring him to justice.”

Echo and Fumi were stopped by a squadron of Imperial Legionnaires walked in. A woman dressed in light armor walked at the front; two twin scimitars hung at her waist, face was covered in scars from various angles, and her short sleeves showed off several other old wounds. "Commander Tristana of the Imperial Legion. You two need to come with me.”

Echo growled, “Why?”

Tristana’s face expressed some fear, but she kept her composure, "You've been invited to The Imperial Palace. The High General wants to meet you."

Fumi glanced at Echo and nodded, “Lead the way."

The two were escorted to a massive, three-story building the size of a whole city block. It contained the Legion Headquarters on the first floor, quarters for the religious leaders of the nation on the second floor, and on the third floor the Rune-Saint himself, who ruled the whole Holy Empire of Drekfen – chosen by the Artificial Gods.

The gates opened and the legionnaires split off save for a group of six who seemed to be quite well-seasoned. Tristana led the two through several corridors until the couple arrived in a large war room.

“High General Liam Swathmoore. New God and leader of The Imperial Legions."

A tall man with sandy blonde hair and dark green eyes glanced up from a large table filled with reports. He had a small beard and mustache that were exquisitely maintained. "Good, you found them. You two-" he pointed at Echo and Tristana with his index and middle fingers, "-Come here. And present your identification."

Fumi stepped forward first which surprised Echo - normally she let him take the lead. She approached and handed over the identification, and he followed suit. Liam looked at both plates before handing them back.

"You're strong. Incredibly, unbelievably so." He looked up at Tristana, "Leave us. And the rest of you lot, clear out!" He shouted and the legionnaires scrambled over each other to escape the room.

“I brought you here because you two have pissed off one of the strongest of the Artificial Gods.” His voice was stern.

Echo sighed, “I…Rickard – that cleric – deserved everything I gave him, and more. I was merciful.”

Liam nodded, “I personally don’t like fanatics. But they serve their purposes.” He scowled, “Lux can’t attack you directly on Heimfold – that would break manydivine treaties. But you should know that her followers can attack you if they choose.”

Echo frowned, “Even openly? In the street?”

“Yes. In The Holy Empire, we don’t interfere with the will of the Gods. In other regions the rules are different.” He leaned back in his chair, “You made quite a stir; not just in the arena with wild magic. That stunt in Lux’s temple drew some attention.”

“But it wasn’t wild. I have Perfect Casting,” Echo replied.

Liam tented his hands and looked at the couple. "I don't know how you became so powerful." His eyes shifted to Echo, "But you were blessed by Vythin Goldenscales, weren't you?”

Echo nodded, “I met him when I died.”

Liam sighed and brushed his hair back, “He just loves meddling in things.” His eyes shifted to Fumi. “My apologies about your imprisonment. Alamayn’s instructions were very clear – but intentionally lost. I’m still tracking the leak.”

"...Why?” Fumi had reverted to her demurer demeanor. “…Why was I lost?...Given to…him.”

“What happened?” Echo asked, looking at her.

Fumi quietly recounted the tale. She had fought The Empire before it reformed, was defeated by their leader, Alamayn the Tactician, and captured. She was put into a deep sleep by a spell, and then subjected to Tiberius’ experiments. Until Echo saved her.

Echo ran a hand along Fumi's back before whispering, "You’re safe now." He glanced up at Liam, “How did you lose her?”

Liam shook his head, “I don’t know. It was two-hundred years ago, and the records are spotty. I’m working on figuring it out. I do know it was intentional. And for that, you have my apologies on behalf of The Holy Empire.”

Echo nodded and kept rubbing Fumi’s back reassuringly. “Well, thanks for the warning about Lux and all that.”

“You’re welcome,” Liam replied as he leaned forward, tenting his hands. “One more question, have you heard of someone named Malvir?”

Echo clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, and he started to bleed.

Fumi put a hand on his thigh, and he glanced over at her.

"His…worshipper captured me." Echo put his hand on top of Fumi's, squeezing it for comfort despite the boiling anger under the surface.

Liam slid open a drawer and pulled out a lime green sheet of paper that dripped with viscous ooze which melted to nothingness as it hit the desk. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Heads up! One of my disciples – Tiberius - hasn't given an artifact back to me. I told him no more than a year, but he up and vanished. If you see a cube-shaped artifact that oozes black slime, please let me know! - Malvir, Maker of Monsters.

P.S. I don't care if you kill him. He's lost my favor."

Liam looked up from the letter, "Tell me the story."

Echo recounted it. Including the part about eating people, which made him squirm with revulsion.

Fumi sat silently until Echo finished before she spoke up, "...He made us monsters."

Liam nodded, “You two seem relatively normal compared to the reports of monsters we are receiving." He gestured to a small pile of papers, “All across Heimfold these are starting to trickle in. And all of these monsters have eyes just like yours, black save for the iris.”

Echo felt a mix of emotions. Excitement at the idea he could fight and eat more monsters to get even stronger, followed up by disgust and revulsion at the idea of eating people. “Are you doing anything about them?”

“No. If they become a threat? Sure. But right now, they’re just…out there.”

Fumi stood up, “…You want them dead?”

Liam grinned, "I was hoping you’d ask.”

Tiberius sat by a small stream, looking through the sensor.

One of his spells, Greater Seeing, allowed him to see any location in the world if he had some connection to it. And he had quite a connection to those two.

Malvir doesn’t care about me?

A chill coursed through him.

I will earn your love, Malvir.

He would prove Malvir’s other sects wrong.

My interpretation is the right one.

"We’ll kill them all." Fumi said resolutely.

Liam nodded, "You'll be fairly compensated. Let my scouts do their work, and I'll post a quest informing on the location.” He saluted by clasping his fist to his chest, "You have not only my thanks but that of The Holy Empire."

They were escorted out and once they were on the streets of Saint's Hold they were left alone, the bustle of city life surrounding them. Echo warily glanced around, but did not see anyone who seemed poised to attack them. They began walking back to the Guild Hall.

Fumi smiled and grabbed his hand, back to her confident self. "If we eat the other monsters, we get stronger. Strong enough to survive."

"I don’t like the idea of eating things that were once people."

Fumi scoffed, “If they can talk, I’d agree…But they’re like dumb animals.”

Echo was silent as he pondered her brusque comment.

They were people once.

He chose to change the subject, “We need to keep an eye out for Lux’s followers, if they want us dead.”

She nodded, “They can try.” She smirked, “We are stronger.”

Echo ran a hand through her hair, "I won't let you down."

But he still couldn’t get past the fact that the fastest way to get stronger was to eat these monsters.

Monsters, just like them, that used to be people.

Echo and Fumi explored Saint's Hold for a bit, spending quite a bit of time in the market district. Fumi was quite a shopaholic, and Echo was laden with bags that she insisted he carry and not put into his pocket dimension.

As she put it, "...I want to see what I bought."

When Echo had replied with the fact that they were using his money, she replied with a glare, but did not say anything in return, instead redoubling her shopping with fervor.

They returned to the Guild Hall and after dropping off their shopping in the apartment went downstairs to socialize with others. Many company leaders came up to invite the duo to join them, which Echo abruptly declined.

The duo listened with glee to the various stories from those who had completed a quest and wanted to brag about it - often with inflated details. Echo was reveling in just hearing more about the world.

I can't wait to explore it more.

He felt more confident than ever given his newfound power. His massive stats giving his ego a much-needed boost after years of forced evolution at the hands of Tiberius.

A sensation sickened him as soon as it hit. Gratitude for Tiberius' imprisonment and torture.

He made me this strong.

He glanced at Fumi, who was draining tankards of ale as she listened to the various tall tales being told.

But finding you was worth it.

He slid a hand over to Fumi's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

She placed her hand on top of his, glancing sideways at him, smiling.

Breed…

Evolve…

Fumi grabbed him by the hand and dragged him back to their apartment and to the bedroom once more. They rent each other’s flesh asunder once more as they engaged in their violent, carnal desires.

Their Evolution Instinct.

Rickard sweated heavily under the watchful eye of the angelic protector that was training him. Subjecting him to more physical strain than ever before.

This is bullshit!

He hated having to work.

Why shouldn’t I get a cheat like him?

He stewed at the thought of Echo – the adventurer, already stronger than him from their first meeting, had grown immensely in stats, despite being a prisoner.

It sickened him. Only the gods should be able to give power so freely.

“Keep at it!” The angelic protector shouted with the demeanor of a drill sergeant.

He continued with the regimen, slowly pushing an enormous boulder up a hill. His legs burned. His chest heaved.

But, whenever he began to feel winded, the angel would imbue him with some of Lux’s power…and the surge of that warmth, combined with the knowledge that he was, indeed, chosen – hand-picked from amongst her hundreds of millions of devotees – drove him to push his limits.

I’ll get strong enough to kill you.

Her will be done.

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