Chapter 37 - Invitation (Patreon)

Rickard was in rapturous bliss. Bathed in the light of Lux’s radiant glow.

She was harsh, and had punished him severely for his failings – shunning him to a corner of The Sun. But now…now she was willing to reward him for his efforts. Despite his failing.

She was a gracious Goddess, after all.

He knelt in front of her, his new, heavenly body his gift for service. Angelic. Divine.

“You tried your best,” Lux said, turning to him with a frown. “But it wasn’t enough. And through your devotion you’ve redeemed some of your worst qualities. Now you may serve here in my palace. Perhaps a waiter.”

“My lady of light. Please. Give me another chance!” He looked up at her with awe and pure devotion. “I can kill him! I can enact your will!”

She shook her head, “No. Direct intervention would mean that Isaac could also get involved directly.” She turned to him with fury on her face, “That would mean that the Destined Pantheon would get involved.” She turned away. “That means Vythinwould be a problem.”

“But…my lady!”

“No!” Her voice cut through the air with as a clear peal of a bell, and her fury was awesome and terrifying to behold. “You are now one of my eternal servants, that is reward enough. I cannot risk an open war. Isaac alone would pose a threat. But his whole Pantheon at his back? No…Just…no.”

And, she knew, she could not count on her siblings to have her back. They were not aligned as they used to be ever since The Void was defeated, they had been pursuing their own interests. Especially Umbra. She had changed drastically since The Void was defeated. She wasn’t even the same person anymore.

They used to tolerate each other – now there was a frigid expanse between them.

“What about Echo? The monster deserves the wrath of your brilliant radiance.”

She raised an eyebrow, “If other devotees of mine deal with him, then that would not break my agreement with the Guildmaster.” She grinned, “Monsters must be destroyed, after all.” She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, the mere touch sending waves of ecstasy through him.

“If that agreement is violated somehow, you will be allowed to hunt him down.” She laughed – the most beautiful sound Rickard had ever heard. “So, train here in my Afterlife. Grow strong in my radiance. Earn your place amongst my ranks.”

Rickard felt a pulse of anger at his own failure. His own death. But in the light of his Goddess, those feelings were amplified with righteous zeal and fervor. Who would not devote themselves wholly to such a powerful, divine being?

“I won’t fail you again.”

I’ll kill him.

“…Good morning,” Fumi snuggled into Echo. “…I want pancakes.”

Echo nodded and gently extricated himself from his partner. After a quick stretch, he threw on a set of robes and slipped out of the bedroom and into the main room.

Narya, the pixie maid, was already hard at work, roaming around every surface of the entire room with a hand slime – a creature made by Malvir, a New God who – in a roundabout way, made Echo what he was now.

Narya muttered constantly, “Must clean…must clean…” and did not notice Echo until he spoke.

“Good morning, Narya!”

She jumped and flitted up on her translucent wings, floating over to Echo as the hand slime slowly scooted away toward a dusty corner of the room. “You slept in again,” She commented plainly with a pouty look.

Echo chuckled, “Please, it’s not that late.”

Another doorway opened and White Rose – the Lich Queen of Kaad – stepped out into the main room. Glancing around quickly she smirked at the two, “Good morning.”

Echo gestured to Rose, “See? It’s not that late. Isn’t that right, Rose?”

The undead woman nodded, “Yes. It is about thirty minutes past sunrise.”

Echo gently gripped Narya and set her on his shoulder, “See? Not that late.” He walked over to the kitchen and began to prepare a wonderful pancake breakfast with all the fixings. “Do you want any?”

Rose took a seat in the living room and cracked open one of several books on the coffee table – primarily history and modern event records – “Yes, please. With strawberries.”

Narya tugged his ear, “I want blueberries.”

Echo began to cook. Memories flooded back to him of his past life on Earth, when his mother would make him pancakes on the weekend before taking him to the park to play on the swings. He sighed gently and felt a tug on his ear. “Yes, Narya?”

The pixie pouted, “Why did you add an egg?”

“It makes them extra fluffy.”

“You’re weird.” Narya flitted off and picked up a large pan with her impressive-for-her-size strength. She quickly whipped up a syrup with various berries as Echo finished up the main part of the meal.

Rose came into the kitchen and without prompting began to set the table as Echo laid out the platters of food. Fumi shuffled into the room in a robe that matched Echo’s, taking a seat, and immediately piling on heaps of the sweet, fluffy pancakes. The other three sat down and indulged in their wonderful breakfast.

Glancing occasionally at Fumi he felt Evolution Instinct activate.

Breed…

Evolve…

He pushed the desire aside, the constant reminder that he and Fumi were not Human and Ogo respectively, anymore. They were warped and changed by an artifact given to a wayward disciple of a deity.

Echo stared down at the syrup remaining pooled on his plate.

At least I don’t feel like eating her.

Tiberius – the man who tortured and forced Echo and Fumi to evolve…and turned them into monsters that devoured other monsters for power. Echo excused himself from the table to finish his morning routine, shaking off the thoughts of revenge for the time being.

He crossed to their luxurious restroom and finished his regimen before surrendering the space to Fumi and heading back to the kitchen to help Narya clean up.

After getting dressed out, the monstrous adventurers – excluding Narya – would leave their joined adventurer apartment through the main door and descend into the Adventurer Guild Hall.

At this point, every other adventurer knew who they were. They had registered their adventuring company shortly after returning from Crux Omega, finally giving a name to their collective selves – The Undying.

Echo smirked as the other lower-ranked adventurers gave way to their procession as they made their way through the double doors that led from this extradimensional space into Saint’s Hold – the capital of The Holy Empire of Drekfen.

Rose would often dip off to one of the numerous libraries to continue her research of Heimfold and all the events she had missed out on in her several thousand years trapped in the Dead Scar.

Fumi and Echo made their way to a large arena like the Colosseum in Rome back on Earth, made from black and white marble whose arches were lined with statues of all Gods – Artificial and New.

“Ah, my two regular performers!” the Crimson Scale Axan – Pomentar – greeted the two with his regular jolliness as they checked in at his office within the arena’s walls. He explained they would have a shorter day available since other events were scheduled.

Echo nodded as Fumi tugged him past the arena owner and into the center of the space. She unsheathed her katana – which she had named Thirsting Heart – and took up a hidari gedan no kamae stance.

Echo retrieved his equipment from the pocket dimension storage space within his ring, drawing out his sword and shield.

The two blinked, and as soon as Fumi stomped her foot, their practice bout would begin.

They both instantly activated several Abilities – innate or developed powers that drained Quintessence to fuel their use.

Some, though, such as their shared Ability of Damage Resistance (All) were always active due to their monstrous nature and the forced evolutions their bodies had undergone.

Echo parried every slash of Fumi’s Perfect Offense with his own Perfect Defense, neither giving or gaining ground as their blades danced and flicked off each other. This was a part of the dance; their equal display of power to each other as a sign of respect.

But inevitably, Fumi would grow impatient and activate Overcharge – an upgrade to the Alacrity Ability – raising her speed to be near untraceable to all but those who knew what to expect.

And it would be at this instant that Echo would activate the same Ability in kind, ensuring to keep on an even pace with her.

Their whirling tempest of strikes, parries, ripostes, and acrobatics would become a ferocious flurry of feral instinct and trained weapon proficiency. Echo could do nothing except keep her at bay as Fumi’s mastery of her blade pushed her slowly but inexorably past his defenses – millennia of fighting out scaling his higher stats.

This would inevitably become a battle of attrition. Whose Quintessence would run out first, and thus deactivate their Overcharge.

This, too, was matched, as Echo would have to spend Quintessence to fuel his Enhanced Regeneration to ensure that the wounds he suffered did not become a burden; and so, their difference in available innate power would remain level.

And, as usual, Echo would concede as his power was just about depleted.

Shortly after claiming her victory, Fumi would collapse into Echo’s arms as he carried her home – the two utterly exhausted after the mere hours of training.

She wasn’t unable to walk, rather, she just enjoyed being carried by him.

Occasionally they were accosted by followers of Lux, but a simple spell or some minor injuries from Fumi was enough to scare them off.

After all, these two were monsters. Regular acolytes and clerics stood no chance.

The rest of the day was spent in their apartment. Echo had been hard at work for weeks at this point, tinkering with new equipment to support and augment himself and his allies. Dozens of ideas for various magic items had flooded through his mind, and he had purchased a stockpile of Adamantine from the Starfall Badlands to tinker with. A corner of the living room was dedicated to his small crafting table and a high-backed chair – and it was covered with half-finished or half-conceived projects.

On this evening, Echo had finished his first set of magic items and proudly held them up. Damascus-steel looking silver bracelets.

Rose raised her eyebrow, “What does it do?”

“These are single-use, short-range teleportation bracelets. Three charges each day,” Echo said with pride. “Fumi helped. Without her Affinity, it wouldn’t have been possible.”

Everyone picked up one of the offered bracelets and slipped it on – even a tiny sized one for Narya. There were mutters of appreciation, and Fumi snuggled up to Echo and sunk into his embrace. “Thank you, my Echo.”

Echo patted her head and relaxed into the cushion.

Tiberius labored in secret.

The whole of the Great Clan stronghold was on alert. The city of Soju knew that some malevolent force was abducting their citizens.

But none could find the perpetrator.

Tiberius had created a wonderful monster out of several Ogo – adept spies and assassins who could just as easily capture targets. Creatures who blended with the shadows much like Tiberius himself could. The female counterpart to the Gori were the perfect roguish material.

That is how he had so many test subjects in the labyrinthine lair under the Upheaval Mountains. So many he had to expand his lair dozens of times.

“Almost time,” he muttered. Soon, his plan would come to fruition. He would have enough forces to take the whole Clan by force.

And then you’ll come.

He knew that the fastest way to draw Fumi and Echo back to his clutches was to pry on the only weakness he knew the duo had.

Fumi’s relationship to the Great Clan she resurrected from the ashes.

Fumi went out shopping whilst Echo stayed in the apartment. Alone, with the Aether Shard in his hands, he turned the object over and over in his palm.

What should I make?

The shard could replicate the power of the Gods. And it was probably the best tool at his disposal to tip the scales in his favor if Lux wanted him dead.

He set the shard on the table and paced around the room, hand on his chin as he contemplated the myriad possibilities.

I can use any of my affinities.

Crafting the shard into an artifact would allow him to perform specific spells at a divine level – miracles. But, once he crafted that artifact, the function would remain the same. It could never be switched.

He sat down once more and pulled the shard into his grasp once more.

I should choose one of my most powerful Affinities. Either Transmutation or Space.

He sighed and leaned back onto the couch. Staring at the ceiling he mulled over various ideas.

With a Space Domain artifact, he could teleport entire armies across the world… which could be useful for both escaping and getting to places.

He lifted the shard to his eye and peered into the slow, swirling vortex of sparkling starlight contained within. The hues of green, blue, purple, and red swam across his vision.

But…I want to explore and enjoy this new world.

He told Fumi they would travel the whole of Heimfold together – and he wanted to uphold that promise. Teleporting all over would defeat the joy of adventuring in this new life.

“What is that?” Rose asked as she stepped out of her apartment into their joined space.

Echo glanced at her before setting the shard back on the table, “It makes Gods and artifacts.”

Rose’s eyes went wide as she stared at the item. “An Aether Shard?”

Echo nodded, “That’s what I was told.”

Rose shook her head and took a seat, gesturing at the inert crystal. “In my time, before The Void Invasion, we had heard of these shards. Caelum – the Arch God of Heimfold – was hoarding and stockpiling them.” She glanced up at Echo, “Do you want to know the history?”

Echo nodded, “Yeah. Maybe that’ll help me decide what to make with it.”

Rose raised a quizzical eyebrow before beginning. The Universe was created in The Prime Urge – The Big Bang, as Echo understood it. It created seven Prime Gods for each of the prime domains/elements of creation. Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Light, Shadow, and Soul.

The Prime Gods split were made from Aether Shards in their entirety. But they split pieces of themselves off, which formed the first Arch Gods – except for the Prime God of Soul. Those Arch Gods made their own worlds and crafted more specific domains, moving away from the nebulousness of the prime domains/elements.

Eventually the Prime Gods were all gone, and worlds developed after the various Arch Gods’ desires – technology, magic, or a combination known as technomancy.

Rose stood up and walked to stand in front of Echo, “What is your intent with this Aether Shard now that you know the history of their origin?”

He mulled over her words for several moments. “I was warned not to try and use it to become a God myself.”

“Wise counsel. Aether Shards are antithetical to corrupted beings.” She gestured between the two of them, “As a monster, I believe the natural purifying properties of the shard would obliterate your being. The same goes for my Void-originated, undead nature.”

Echo froze for a moment as it clicked in his head.

Wait, does that mean…it acts like a God does?

He squeezed the Aether Shard in his palm and began to channel Quintessence into the object. The shard greedily soaked up the enormous amount of power he poured into it, the silver torrent of energy pouring into it as the red sparks of his monstrous nature fizzled against the surface.

As he did so, the shard grew warm to the touch, radiating a gentle, soothing Heat – just as the Gods did when they performed a feat of their divine power.

Just as I thought.

He released the flow of energy and sat down, winded from the exertion as the shard had drawn more power from him than he had anticipated.

“What did you do?” Rose asked as she took a few steps back.

Echo smirked and explained. Before he was a monster, his Quintessence was pure silver. But, since him and Fumi became monsters, their Quintessence also had red sparks. He held up the shard, “But when I just tried to pour power into the shard, the crimson bounced off of it.”

“Ah, you were testing my theory,” Rose commented thoughtfully as a blush flashed across her pale features. “That confirms that you cannot become a God as you are now.”

“Not only that. This thing has a limitless capacity for Quintessence and converts it to whatever power the Gods use…Heat, I think they called it. Meaning, I don’t needto turn it into an artifact capable of manifesting divine powers.”

He held the shard in front of him, “I can just make a housing for this, and feed it extra Quintessence. Then, I’ll able to use the converted Heat to perform divine feats with any of my affinities.”

But, he knew, the transfer of power was not one to one. More like one to ten. He would need to use a lot of Quintessence to perform feats on the level of miracles. And, he would have to choose – put Quintessence into the Aether Shard, or into his Brighsteel. One he could use in an explosive miracle, the other he could draw upon as he needed it.

Rose sat in a chair, “When you pray to the Gods, your Quintessence goes to them, and they use that for their power.”

“Right. But now we know that you don’t need to be a God to do what Gods do. You just need one of these shards.” Echo slipped the Aether Shard into his pocket dimension ring. “But I can’t become a God. I’m a monster.”

That phrase reminded him of the things he had done. Eating his allies. Eating people. Driven by Evolution Instinct. Calling himself a monster reinforced this fact – he was not like anyone else in Heimfold. Except for Fumi.

Rose came over and put a hand on his shoulder, “There’s nothing wrong with being a monster. Take it from me. Plus,” she smiled, “Divinity seems overrated. Those Gods are always so busy with their worshippers and tasks.”

She let her hand trace down to his arm and clasped his hand in her own, “If we all become strong enough, we could rival the Gods themselves. It’s just a matter of gaining power.”

Echo put his hand on top of hers and smiled, “High praises, thinking we could fight Gods. I’ll be happy if we can kill Tiberius. But, thank you for the compliment.” He thought he saw the brief blush on her pale, white cheeks, but just as quickly she pulled her hand away as the door opened.

Fumi came in carrying an enormous load of bags from her outing. She set them in the main doorway before coming over and kissing Echo on the cheek. She turned to Rose with a slight scowl, “You were holding his hand.”

Rose bowed slightly, “It was a reassuring gesture, not romantic.” She smiled, “After all, I’m only interested in his mind and intelligence.”

Fumi nodded, reverting to a broad grin. “Good.”

Echo pulled her close and kissed her on the lips before turning to Rose and giving her a slight bow, “Thank you for the history lesson and conversation.” He looked at Fumi, “What did you buy?”

Fumi dropped the bags and began pulling out all sorts of art supplies. Paints, primers, canvases, brushes, charcoal. Her speech shifted to her more restrained voice, “…I want to have hobby supplies for when we travel…I want to paint what we see.”

Echo smiled, “Do you want it in the ring?” Fumi nodded, and Echo briefly channeled Quintessence into the magic item on his finger, opening the portal as Fumi jumped in and began handing her supplies. In short order, the supplies were stowed away as Fumi hopped back out.

Narya ‘popped’ into existence and fluttered over to Echo carrying a letter as big as her. “You got a message.”

Echo raised an eyebrow as he took the letter from the pixie, opening it.

Liquid shadow poured out of the envelope and spilled out onto the floor. Echo and Fumi both instinctively drew their weaponry, and Rose backed away and began channeling Quintessence.

Rose cursed, “It’s Umbra.”

The voice that came from the shadow-turned-humanoid was sweet as honey but carried a malice behind it.

“I invite you to The Conflux of Creation for an audience.”

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