《Zoldassim》


 001 - Stout Heart, Fiery Soul

    I opened my eyes after the last few hours of slumber. Weighting on my shoulder laid the ebon steel sheath of my beloved Nyraxis.


    Unsheathing the slender sword I see my reflection in the even darker steel. This blade had been forged from a special material renowned for its pure black lustre, and it kept that way for millennium.


    But has for time concerned itself, Its keen sheen turned somewhat crimson, bathing her in the blood of my many foes had an effect on it.


    I sheathed it back again and looked around from high on my throne.


    My castle. My throne room, all built from stone and bones. Bones from my enemies and slaves both; and stone from the fallen kingdoms that perished towards my wrath throughout many thousands of years.


    During my journeys since I came to this world, I never really belonged or had a home to return to.


    But ever since I finished this wonderful project of mine, that did change. I brought the few woman that earned my love throughout my life and had some kids.


    At the side of my throne there lied my ax. I placed Nyraxis leaning at the side of my throne and jammed it a little. Good old guitar, a perfect replica from the one I had in my first life back on earth, this one had magic in it tough.


    ¡°


    Works of art, painted black


    Magniloquent, bleeding dark


    Monotonous palate, murky spectrum, grimly unlimited


    Food for thought, so prolific¡­¡°


    I sang along the lyrics and played a solo with the skill earned throughout an immortal life.


    ¡°


    Bleeding works of art


    Seething work so dark


    Seering words from the hearth.¡°


    *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*


    I heard the sound and looked to the side as a figure appeared from the darkness behind a set of pillars.


    ¡°Impressive. Rare is the soul that can sneak on me. I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s as far as you can get.¡± I said with my usual stern demeanour.


    ¡°Without having me sniff you out!¡± I snapped a laugh and charged at the figure.


    ¡°EEEKKKK¡± It screamed as I lifted her up in the air and span her around.


    My daughter and a source joy. All the light that this dark and murderous heart of mine can withstand.


    ¡°Daaaad! I¡¯m too old for this stop!¡± She said as I spun her around. Then I placed her back down.


    I sat in the steps of my throne and she quickly sat right by my side, a mischievous grin in her face.


    ¡°You will always be my little barghest, spooking my mortals and pranking my courtiers!¡± I poked her nose.


    *ATCHOOOO* She sneezed.


    I looked at her. My third daughter, always getting in trouble, and trying to get me to teach her my songs. Those that I happened to err¡­ borrow from back then.


    She is all big now. Kids¡­ grow up fast. But in truth they never cease to be those little mischievous gremlins always getting into trouble.


    ¡°That song is Hearthwork right? Can you teach me a little? I never seem to get the riff right!¡± She tried to reach for my guitar as I held her in place by her clothes.


    ¡°No touching my things, go fetch you own damn guitar!¡± I rolled my eyes in an amused annoyance.


    ¡°Meh¡­ Yours is a lot cooler.¡± She mumbled.


    Abella. Golden eyes and a long auburn hair. Now that she is all grown up she is the spitting image of her mother. That c¡­. Never mind. Our daughter stayed with me while she keeps prowling the night making her amateurish plots that will never work against her betters.


    And I did replaced her, my newest one is the perfect one, I am sure.


    ¡°I just want to show my new¡­¡± She kept mumbling and I cut her off.


    ¡°How are the twins? Behaving? ¡± I asked.


    She frowned. ¡°Yeah¡­ They are babies they just cry and stink. Their mother is taking care of them! I know let¡¯s go over to the lowest floors! I heard of a bunch of mortals stirring up a¡­¡±


    I cut her off again. And walked out of the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m off, going to check on the twins. You are free to come.¡±


    I heard her stomping her feet and walking away.


    Kids¡­ Almost two centuries old and still acting like that.


    Soon I reached a chamber where i saw the three.


    My wife Astra sat on a couch surrounded by books as always, and my two little baby daughters playing at¡­ throwing books at each other.


    ¡°Fise! Falle! Stop that! You are lucky these are enchanted if you ruin any of my tomes I will cast a pacify jinx on both of you!¡± The mother said clearly annoyed. But I noticed a faint smile on her lips.


    I took a sit in the couch next to them.


    She jerked up. ¡°My lord¡­ How kind of you to find the time to¡­ grace us with your presence. Our children are alright as you can see ¡­ eer¡± She shyly hid behind a blanket.


    ¡°I see. I came to check on you too. Do you¡­ have everything you need? The servants are behaving? No one causing trouble for you three?¡± I asked sincerely.


    ¡ª


    My wife Astra¡­ she is a little withdrawn.


    One of the daughters of a wizard emperor back in the other side of the continent. An empire which I happened to raze to the ground and enslave most of its citizens.


    Anyway, all of it is over, solved and now that empire now flies the correct banner and pays taxes to the correct emperor. Mine and me.


    Before I fed that old coot¡¯s neck to my sword he came up with a peace offering. His daughter in exchange for mercy and vassalizing his empire, and of course few more remunerations and a few slightly useful artefacts.


    I was feeling compassionate that day. And I did happen to be single at the time.


    So I took his offer and only cut off his legs. He won¡¯t be growing them back.


    Still. His daughter¡­ The renowned genius of the arcane and etcetera, is having trouble warming up to me. Despite me being so nice to her.


    Give it time, I guess.


    ¡ª-


    ¡°Yes! No one gives us trouble¡­ And everything is peaceful.¡± She nodded.


    ¡°Good.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Is my eldest daughter behaving?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes of course, why wouldn¡¯t she be?¡± Astra answered and then made a question, which I ignored.


    My eldest daughter¡­ Nevauri was quite the handful. I was expecting her to stir up trouble with her new little sisters and my new wife, but she behaved. How odd.


    I got close to the twins and patted their heads.


    ¡°Fise, Falle. Take care of your mother and keep her from murdering everyone.¡±


    They both pinched my cheeks.


    Fise-¡°Daddy is cute!¡±


    Falle-¡°Daddy play with us!¡±


    ¡°Fise, Falle! Behave!¡± Astra jerked up and shouted, panic in her voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my lord. They are children i¡­ can¡¯t control them.¡± Her voice shaken.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright¡± I chuckled. I have no idea how to talk with her, i noted.


    I looked at my little daughters. Black eyes and a natural blue hair the exact looks of their mother, aside from the eyes.


    Do I get a say in it?


    ¡°I¡¯m off, back to my duties. See you ladies later.¡± I got out of the room and closed the doors.


    As I walked in the corridors of my palace suddenly a spell warned me.


    Trespassers are reaching the highest floor. Come to slay the mean big old devil. It seems the many traps, hordes and the meanest pets from hell failed at their job of guarding the place.


    ¡°These brave heroes¡­¡° I mumbled in disgust.


    I sat back on my throne ready for a fight as I polished my beloved Nyraxis. ¡°You will soon quench your thirst.¡± The great sword glinted seemingly in acknowledgement.


    The doors opened. And from the stairs below walked a single figure. She approached swag on her step. Tall and slender. A rapier on her waist, silver white hair and abyss black eyes just like mine. Pretty face, but a devious grin and eyebrows full of deceit. My own face on a girl.


    ¡°Nevauri.¡± I greeted her.


    ¡°Father.¡± She answered.


    ¡°I see you came to greet our visitors. Keeping me company, heh?¡± I asked as I relaxed.


    ¡°You have been sitting on your arse for far too long. I fear it made you soft; so I decided to come¡­ and give my old man a little backup.¡± She smirked as she sat in the throne¡¯s steps.


    ¡°You just sit and watch. It will only take a moment.¡± I answered.


    She laughed. ¡°Amusing.¡±


    Nevauri. My first daughter, she is the one who takes after me the most both by looks and might. I spoiled her a little to much, but then again she never failed at anything. Always moving up, always the best at everything. A genius.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Such heights bring ambition, and once there. Arrogance.


    Our downfall. I learn that lesson thorough my life. And when it happened, i was at my lowest.


    I will be there for her when that happens, seeing my daughter like that is something that a father just can¡¯t bear.


    ¡°Hey Nev.¡± I smiled as I looked at her.


    ¡°Dad?¡± She looked at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m very proud of you. And¡­ I love you very much.¡± I said sincerely.


    She narrowed her eyes. ¡°I¡­ Me too. Me too.¡±


    She looked a little uncomfortable now.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I went to her side and summoned a blanket and placed it in her back.


    ¡°Ahhh¡ª Its¡­ just the cold, yes the cold.¡± She jerked up and hugged the blanket.


    ¡°Sure¡­ We need to talk.¡± I answered, strange seeing her acting this shy. She is always so brazen.


    I sensed the intruders just beaten the last floor. They were coming up the steps. Come to greet me. They would be here in about thirty minutes.


    ¡°Later¡­¡± I continued.


    She nodded.


    I took my Ax and started strumming. A greeting is in order.


    ¡°


    Long been complacent with the hand I¡¯ve been dealt


    Restless and weak from the life that I¡¯ve built


    So I¡¯ll journey afar, for there¡¯s glory to find


    And I¡¯ll out my entry in the annals of time ¡°


    I started strumming and singing one of my favourite songs.


    The doors finally opened as I went on.


    ¡°Silence devil! I came to end your tyranny. And avenge my parents¡­ And all the people you have murdered.¡± The leader spoke up.


    Interrupting-me.


    Finally they show up. The blonde youth and his little group all clad in enchanted armours and weapons.


    Just like in those fairy tales.


    I looked at him in disgust. Got up and smashed the tip of Nyraxis against the floor. Holding the grip with both hands.


    Dark feathered wings grew off my back, and horns curled up high above my head as I stood three meters tall.


    One, two, five. A well rounded party; this might actually take more than a moment¡­


    I could feel Nevauri smirking behind me.


    Some started chanting spells and others advanced. No matter.


    ¡°My name is Davos of Shorehelm. And I will end you this day.¡±


    The brave hero approached in an offensive stance, spear and shield.


    I step slowly into the light so they can see my size and might, unsheathing Nyraxis and lifting it up high above my head.


    ¡°My name is Zoldassim, I welcome you to my home. Witness your impeding doom¡­!¡±


    Nyraxis tight in my grasp I charged forward smashing it against the hero¡¯s shield.


    He withstood the charge, parrying the blow and deflecting the sword, taking advantage of my overextended position he counter attacked, thrusting his spear towards my chest.


    The scales on my chest are impenetrable, his spear bounced off like nothing. As I chuckled.


    His companions stood far in the hall watching the fight, but didn¡¯t move. It seems they chose to stay out of this. A hero¡¯s honour... Sure, I could play around a little bit too.


    ¡°Impressive armour. Unfortunately for you, my spear is not bound by ordinary limitations.¡±


    With a quick flourish, he tossed his spear up into the air, spinning it end over end. As he catches it, the spear seems changed, glowing and sparking with power.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how well your armour holds up against this, fiend!¡± He shouted.


    I fix my gaze at him like a dragon eyeing his pray. My glare following every move like a hawk waiting for the right moment to pounce.


    I let out another chuckle. My voice rumbling like thunder thorough the room¡¯s halls.


    ¡°You think a toy¡¯s weapon can scratch me? You truly entertain me.¡±I chuckled.


    A smile crossed his annoying face.


    ¡°Let me show you the meaning of true strength.¡±


    With a lightning-fast motion, he launched himself forward in an explosion of speed. Closing the distance before I could react.


    Leaping into the air. He brought down his spear in an overhead strike aiming for my chest.


    In a flash, My response was like a lighting bolt taken form. My massive hand whips out in an instant, grasping his spear mid-descent, stopping his attack effortlessly.


    My grip is like vice, and his spear looks tiny in my iron palm. I chuckle again mocking him.


    ¡°You are quick little hero. I will give you that. Too bad it is not enough.¡±


    He pulled back quickly, the force of my counter attack sending him stumbling backwards momentarily.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how you handle this then.¡± He said.


    With a flick of his wrist, he sent a wave of energy along the length of his spear, the force surging outwards in a blast intended to knock me off balance.


    This wave of energy crashed into me, sending tremors of force into my body. Shacking the whole room. But instead of being thorn off balance, I stood firm, my feet sinking slightly into the ground but remaining steady.


    I chuckled, my voice filled with disdain.


    ¡°Fall fiend!¡± He screamed, hatred in his voice.


    He grips his spear pressing the attack, He surges forward again, feinting high with his spear before changing direction and aiming a kick at my knee.


    Once again, my response is preternatural. I raise my hand in a block, catching his kick and stopping it dead with ease. My gaze locks onto his. A smirk on my face.


    Then I squeezed his ankle within my grip.


    ¡°Tsk, tsk. Predictable¡­ and weak.¡± I said with boredom.


    He grimaces in pain as his ankle is crushed in my grip. However he did not give me the satisfaction of a cry or a plea.


    Seizing the opportunity the contact provides, he slammed his forehead into my face, trying to drive me back with a headbutt.


    As his forehead connected with mine, a loud ¡®thunk¡¯ rang out. Bone to bone, skull to skull. My head snaps backwards for an instant, but I just smiled.


    In one quick motion, I grabbed hold of his shoulders, shoving him away and sending him stumbling several steps back. A deep, mocking laugh emanating from my chest.


    He managed to land on his feet, backing off and seemingly trying to regain composure. His breath comes in ragged gasps.


    He grits his teeth, focusing. ¡°You really are a monster.¡± He said with a ragged voice


    And again he raises his spear, shifting into a ready stance. ¡°But even monsters have weaknesses. I just have to find yours.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t keep up?¡± I provoked.


    I slowly start to approach him again, my strides slow and deliberate. My steel boots crunching the ground beneath them, the sound echoing through the stillness of the throne room.


    I raised my sword; Nyraxis over my shoulder with a single hand, the weapon seeming weightless in my grasp and my gaze fixed on the hero.


    He eyed the massive weapon with a mixture of trepidation and determination. The sheer size of it makes it look like a pillar of stone in my hands.


    ¡°Impressive sword.¡± He commented. ¡°But size isn¡¯t everything.¡±


    Bracing himself for the impeding attack, he shifts into a defensive stance.


    I swing Nyraxis in a wide arc, the sword whistling through the air. It collides with his spear, over and over again, sending shock waves rippling through the spear¡¯s shaft. The impact is like thunderclap, the force of the blow sending tremors through his very bones.


    I followed up with a quick jab with my sword''s pointy tip, aiming for his abdomen.


    He desperately sidesteps the thrust, the tip of Nyraxis grazing his armour and leaving a shallow wound in his side. Despite the pain, he keeps moving, sidestepping and dodging as best as he could.


    Suddenly he switches tactics. Instead of meeting my strikes head-on, he begins to weave and dance around me, looking¡­ for an opening.


    Eventually, i start getting a little frustrated as he successfully evades my attacks. I grunt in annoyance as I continue to swing my weapon, the mighty sword meeting only air each time.


    My patience thins as the hero weaves around me. I start to anticipate his movements better. I suddenly decide to pivot, launching a quick backhand towards him, catching him off guard.


    Smashing into his chin with the force of freight train. My backhand rocks his head back sending him flying and smashing against the wall.


    ¡°Nnngh!¡± He groans, shaking his head and spitting out more blood. ¡°You¡¯re faster than you look, I¡¯ll give you that¡­¡±


    I let out a deep, satisfied chuckle as my backhand connects, the impact clearly affecting him. I stride forward, closing the distance between us. My dark gaze locking into his, a smile on my face.


    ¡°You¡¯re just a stubborn little annoyance, nothing more.¡± I answered.


    I raised Nyraxis once again, the massive sword casual in my grip.


    ¡°You won¡¯t last much longer, you¡¯ll fall soon enough. Why don¡¯t you call your friends? I tire of holding back.¡± I teased the little hero.


    I slashed the sword down. Interestingly enough, he managed to raise his spear and shield once again, only just.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m just a stubborn little annoyance.¡± He retorts between breaths. ¡°But I didn¡¯t get this far by giving up easily. And you are mine, my friends have no place in this fight!¡±


    With a sudden burst of speed, he lunged forward once again, feinting with his spear before quickly changing direction and attempting to slide against me, aiming to get behind me. My reflexes did not fail me; countless battles and duels owned my skills to the top heights, it doesn¡¯t get better than this. I reacted to his feinting manoeuvrer.With the speed of a dragon, I twisted my body, Nyraxis sweeping across the area where he was aiming to pass through, its tip slashing the air just millimetres from his body.


    I let out another mocking chuckle. My gaze on him.


    Reacting quickly, he feints again, but this time launching into a roll and rolling under my legs, coming up behind me. He quickly raises to his feet, spear raised; aiming for a strike at my back. In surprise my expression falters for a moment as he rolls past me, his spear ready My gaze narrows as I spin around and smack his spear away with Nyraxis, the weapon¡¯s heavy impact sending it flying from his grasp.


    I step forward, my voice low, a mocking growl.


    ¡°You¡¯re just prolonging the inevitable, little hero. You¡¯re dancing on thin ice, and I¡¯m about to crack it.


    His weapon skitters across the ground and out of his reach. He steps back, the realization settling in that he is now unarmed and at a sever disadvantage.


    ¡°Maybe so,¡± He responds, his voice steady as I smell his fear bubbling inside. ¡°But if I¡¯m going to go down, I¡¯ll go down fighting.¡±


    In a desperate attempt and charges forward, hoping to throw me off just enough to retrieve his spear.


    My eyes narrow and I ready myself for his charge, my grip on Nyraxis tightening.


    I see right through his feint, noticing his true intention to reach for his spear.


    With a swift, calculated swing of Nyraxis, I deflect his charge, shoving him away forcefully and making it clear that I¡¯m not fooled by his move.


    ¡°You thought you could deceive me, eh? How na?ve of you.¡±


    His back hits the ground, his breath escaping him as he lands hard. He tries to get back up, but the pain in his ankle and the blow from Nyraxis slows his movement.


    ¡°Damn you¡­¡± He mutters, struggling to stand.


    He looks, and sees me looming over me, Nyraxis raised triumphantly, preparing for the final blow.


    I smirk as I ready the execution.


    ¡°And so, it comes to this. The end of your little show of defiance.¡±


    I take a menacing step closer, holding Nyraxis high.


    ¡°Any words before you final breath, little fly?¡±


    His friend shout in panic and try to rush over, but our brave hero raise an hand and orders them to stop.


    Impressive and foolish. I think.


    He stared up defiantly, despite the fact that he is clearly beaten. His eyes never waver, his gaze steady.


    ¡°Just one.¡± He responded, his voice firm.


    With a sudden burst of strength, he rolls to the side and reaches out, fingers grasping the haft of his fallen spear.


    As he reaches for the spear, my eyes widen, realising his last-ditch effort o grab onto his weapon again.


    I swiftly shift my stance, bringing Nyraxis down in a powerful cleave towards him, intending to prevent him from reaching the spear.


    The pain from his ankle flares as he dive rolls away from the incoming strike, just narrowly avoiding a messy end.


    As he lands, his fingers finally close around the haft of his spear, and scrabbles to his feet.


    ¡°Not quite yet,¡± He manages, his voice a bit raspy from the effort. ¡°I¡¯m still breathing.¡±


    My expression darkens in annoyance and my anger grows.


    I take a step forward, readying myself for another attack, Nyraxis gripped tightly.


    He braces himself, clutching the spear in a defensive stance. His breaths come in ragged gasps, the exertion and pain from the fight starting to take their toll.


    Still, he holds his ground, refusing to back down.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Come on.¡± He taunts between breaths. ¡°Show me¡­ Show me what you¡¯ve got.¡±


    My confidence unwavering as I approach him. ¡°You¡¯re exhausted. You¡¯re injured. And yet you still cling to that feeble spear. How noble¡­ and foolish.¡± I raise my sword once again; humming with power as It slashes at him in a sweeping arc. Hoping to cleave him in half.


    He manages to sidestep it, the sudden movement sending a fresh wave of pain through his injuries. He winces but keeps moving, staying just out of range of the massive sword.


    ¡°Foolish, maybe,¡± He admits between breaths. ¡°But I¡¯ve never gave up on anything in my life!¡± Gripping his spear once again, he performs a feint jab towards my gut, but at the last moment, he spins and aims a kick at my knee instead.


    My reflexes prove true, and I catch on to his plan once again, and with a quick reaction i deflect his spear and lift my knee intercepting his kick before it can connect with my kneecap.


    He stumbled slightly, suprised as his kick is fails; his balance compromised from the injury to the ankle. He staggered back a step, his breathing laboured, I could hear his heart pounding in my ears.


    ¡°Dammit, you¡¯re quick. Prick.¡± He grunts, his voice strained ¡°But you¡­ don¡¯t scare me.¡± He adjust his grip once again on his spear, his shield long lost. And braces himself to continue the fight.


    I notice him subtly stumbling and decide to exploit this sudden moment of weakness. I move swiftly, Covering the distance between us in a few powerful strides.


    I raise mt sword high and bring it crashing down towards him with my full force. The sharp edge aimed for his chest.


    He tries to sidestep the blow in retaliation, but the injured ankle fails him, he finds himself unable to move out of the way in time. The satisfying crunch of Nyraxis connecting with his chest plate rings out, the impact knocking him a few feet back.


    He finally hits the ground hard, the air knocked out of him. He lies there for a moment, struggling to breathe, pain shooting through his body from his injuries. With a groan, he pushes himself up on his elbows, looking up at me through blurry vision. Fear and hate evident on his face.


    I looked down on him, with a mixture of disdain and triumph. The sound of Nyraxis almost spilling his guts on the floor; music to my ears.


    I walk to his side and place a foot in his back lifting his head up by the hair. A mocking smirk on my lips.


    ¡°Good fight.¡±


    I bring Nyraxis up from below his neck. Cutting his head clean off in one blow. Blood spilled on the floor; as his friends gasped from afar; their hands in their mouths and knees on the floor.


    ¡°The result would still be the same had you all intervene.¡± I looked over to them.


    I moved my neck. Strange¡­


    It did not move.


    I couldn¡¯t move at all.


    I looked over to the body.


    Haa I see¡­ An holy curse¡ªSuch high level to actually paralyse me for a little while.


    ¡°It will only take a moment to¡­¡±


    Suddenly pain rang in my back, I managed to look down. The bloody pointy end of a rapier was sticking out of my chest. Where my heart was.


    I feel on my knees and saw her.


    My beloved daughter a light of my life. The one who had the most of my looks. Holding that sword in her grip.


    ¡°Nev¡ª¡­ What have you done?¡± I said more sadness in my voice than rage. Still a mix of both.


    She moved her lips saying some words. ¡°¡­ I ¡­.¡­..¡­.¡­.¡­ ...¡­


    ¡­..¡­¡­.¡­.¡­.¡­


    I could not hear what she had said.


    Darkness.

 002 - Curious world

    I regain my consciousness.


    My reincarnation methods seem to be working just fine. I sprout out the will of my soul around, taking in my surroundings.


    I find myself in the soul sea.


    The place where all mortal souls end up in, after their certain demise waiting for judgement. In natural circumstances I would never end up here, my soul would fly straight to the deepest hell.


    Once there, a manor of mine and my servants would be jubilant to greet me, and bow down my feet. It would be a fine vacation; after so many mortal centuries.


    Still, I knew if someone where to be able to actually kill me. Returning there would not be the wisest move.


    I planned ahead.


    Now I am dead. And those who did it, are aware where I would end up. Killing my mortal body wouldn¡¯t finish me. If they did, I would be there yet again the next day. Nyraxis in hand its blade singing the name of the next neck¡¯s owner.


    No. Nevauri knew it, she arranged a trap to capture me on my weakened state after revival, that much is sure.


    And there in the mansion I would be at my killer¡¯s mercy.


    Only someone of that wit would be able to actually end me. Nev sure outdid herself.


    In truth? I am proud of her.


    My daughter; that indeed was a beautiful betrayal. I had a feeling she would try to take my place eventually.


    After all she is my flesh and blood.


    Still. I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be so soon, and she would actually succeed.


    That spell that paralysed me¡­ It was not something that shitty little hero could come up with. No¡­


    There is a thicker plot there. I could smell the stink.


    ¡ª


    I look around with my will. The gargantuan aura of my soul snuffing out the light out of the the weak around me.


    That should draw attention.


    Soon enough a scythe of energy drew me to another location, and an outside power gave my soul a mouth, ears and eyes.


    There in its chair it sat, hood up; face pure darkness. With a lofty attitude.


    Black wings and a huge schyte leaning at its side. Coszots the aspect of death.


    ¡°We meet once again.¡± I greeted it casually.


    ¡°Finally, thou decided to accept mine gift, is thy struggle finally over?¡± Death had no face, all that it showed was a huge figure, a black robe shrouding its hole body; clad in chains of rusted iron.


    In place of a face there was only pure darkness. Its voice was husky and asexual, loud enough to be heard far off. But it sounded like a whisper, a loud whisper one that would resound inside one¡¯s head; something that one could not fail to hear.


    This was no joke. This was the embodiment of death, the most powerful of the aspects embodying the wills of the universe; a primordial being. Its realm was no different; this place works as sorting machine of sorts, the sky a dark purple where numerous souls floated around awaiting their judgement.


    And the ground I made of mountains upon mountains of bones and decaying flesh; all kinds of creatures from beasts to demons, it stretched on infinitely.


    ¡°No. I will never know peace; you know that. There is much to be done, our deal remember? Do it.¡± I answered, with a somewhat sombre tone in my voice.


    ¡°Thou hast been an worthy champion, spreading mine word and mine gift upon thousands. Prithee , forbear this folly. Art thou ne''r going to wot peace? shall thy red hand aye hast it¡± Death leaned forward, almost sounding caring for me.


    Death and i¡­ We go way back.


    ¡°No.¡±


    It took a while but;¡ª


    I finally answered. It owes me a favour, all the mighty deity that death is. It must keep its word. It is folly to put faith in others, especially in such a fickle thing like death. But I know, this thing has its uses for me; something mutual. It will keep its word.


    ¡°Life is not mine domain, yet for thou i shall compose an exception. Hie then, live a few moe of thy mortal years long enough to regret it, then join back and pray me for mercy and mine gift. Then i shall refuse thou once again, so that thou may wot thy place.¡±


    It waved its rotting hand hand sending me far off. A portal of some kind¡­


    ¡°Creation shall be enchafed upon me, allow us get this ordeal over with¡± I heard its voice; far off in the distance. It clasped its hands, and then I was off somewhere else.


    ¡ª-


    I opened my eyes.


    Yes, I seem to have eyes now.


    A girl in her early twenties stared at me with her greyish hazel eyes.


    ¡°Fucker. You are awake.¡± She said.


    Suddenly three more youths got close to the bed I laid on. All similar, a greyish silver blonde hair and grey eyes. They were all pale as corpses, dressed in black robes it seemed they never had seen the sun.


    Another girl hugged me.


    A older boy shook his head and another older one spoke.


    ¡°Seems he will live after all.¡± He turned around and left. The other lad followed him out of the room.


    ¡°Adam. Speak to me.¡± The girl who spoke before addressed me.


    ¡°What¡¯s up.¡± I greeted her casually.


    She frowned and lifted her hand to slap me.


    I caught her hand in the air.


    ¡°Unhand me!¡± She shrieked.


    ¡°That depends. Will you push your luck again?¡± I tightened my grip making her bend to the side in pain.


    ¡°No¡­ Stop it! You are hurting me. Fool.¡± She answered.


    I let her go and she stumbled back falling in her butt.


    I got up from bed and stretched my new body. Experimenting with the voice. Placed an hand in my crotch.


    ¡°Everything seems to be in order.¡± *Haaaa* I yawned ¡°How good it is to be alive.¡± I said as I stretched.


    This body¡­ is weak as fuck. I noticed. Well mortals are like this after all.


    Compared to my old body that was three meters tall, now I stood with one and a half maybe a little more. This new body hadn¡¯t even started to develop it¡¯s muscles. I lifted my right arm that looked like a wet noodle and squeezed it with my left hand.


    The strength that my grip produced could hardly crush my arm, yet I still managed to hurt the hand by squeezing my own arm. Very weak was my first thought.


    To be honest this body is really uncomfortable, like wearing a sock crusted in mud. But still better than nothing.


    ¡°Pig.¡± The girl commented as she got up.


    ¡°Look. I don¡¯t know what spell you used, but you should be a mindless zombie right now. I just cast a necromancy spell on you. If this is a prank and you happened to somehow not be dead. I am going to be very irritated.¡± She said, her voice full of arrogance and annoyance.


    I lunged forward and grasped for her throat shoving her against the wall. She resisted, and to my surprise a little girl like her, turned out to be actually stronger than me. But a gentle squeeze at the apple of her throat that was now in my grasp reminded her of her place.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like your tone. Child.¡± I said as I strangled her.


    Good enough to bully girls at least.


    ¡°So¡­rr¡­.*cough*Sorry.¡± She apologized in tears.


    I let her go and she fell on her knees. I turned around giving my back to her and looking towards the window. An haggard looking little town, It seems I find myself inside a church.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°You don¡¯t recall?. I am Maria, and that is Ruth. We are your sisters, right?¡± She spoke between coughs and looked at the bed where I was laid when I woke up.


    Another girl was sitting there. Just smiling at me.


    Strange, I saw her. But I¡¯m used to detecting presences, this girl didn¡¯t have one. If this Maria did not point her out I wouldn''t have noticed her at all.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you speak?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°She is mute.¡± The other girl answered. ¡°She is also your twin.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I looked into a nearby mirror.


    Grey eyes with shades of purple and long greyish silver blond hair, almost grey too. This boy¡¯s physique was indeed pathetic, a miracle he could stand at all. Aged about sixteen, or seventeen given the details. Given the state of the body he could be younger. Who knows.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    He also had deep dark circles under in his eyes.


    ¡­Its my current body now. And such a fucking headache, it will be to make this thing productive.


    ¡°Come on Maria and Ruth. I seem to be suffering from amnesia, tour me the grounds.¡± I walked out of the room, hands folded behind my back. Gesturing them to follow.


    This was not my first round around.


    As I walked out of the room I found myself in a corridor made of stone, many doors here it seems this is the dormitory. Behind me I could hear hurried footsteps, both girls seem to be obedient. Good.


    ¡°Adam! Wait, you say you are experiencing amnesia? Were are you going? We need to go and see father.¡± Maria reached me by my side and spoke.


    ¡°Somewhere high and quiet were I can question you. Who is this father?¡± I asked as I opened the double door in the end of the hallway.


    Dim sunlight lit up the corridor which was previously lit only by candles and oil lanterns.


    I immediately went blind. Damn¡­ This body is really sensitive. Who was this Adam? A basement dweller?


    I was now in the garden. Only dead shrubs and grey flora. Some dead trees too. This place indeed is a church. Quite a big one too. Maybe a monastery.


    Not far in the garden I spotted a bell tower. There I would have a good view of the place and I could also talk with this girl more comfortably.


    ¡°Our father. The high priest?¡± She asked confused.


    ¡°Priest? They are allowed to have kids here? Not unheard of, but this place looks very¡­ catholic.¡± I responded.


    ¡°Of course, why wouldn¡¯t they? what is catholic? Have you also gone bollocks?¡±


    Bollocks? Is she for real¡­ so this is some kind of british tea cult? No¡­ My first world burned.


    A mirror perhaps? I wondered. Alternative dimensions and their rules are a headache.


    Not responding I kept walking.


    Soon I reached this tower. There was a wooden ladder, I climbed up and the girls followed.


    Up here there was a small big metal bell and a mechanism to ring it. I took a seat at the edge of this belfry.


    I looked down from up this tower, it seems to be about eighty meters high.


    I leaned my back in the wall and casually leaned a leg down the edge. Ruth quickly emulated me and sat in front of me sitting the exact same way in front of me.


    Maria crossed her arms. ¡°That¡¯s dangerous¡­¡± She said.


    I raised an hand to silence her.


    This place is indeed a monastery. Quite a big one too. Outside its walls a town stood, below the hill, where the monastery stood. In the horizon I could see a forest of dead trees and a landfill.


    Just next to the town. These people seem to be pigs.


    The town isn¡¯t advanced. It seems we are in the early eighties.


    I spotted a few horse carriages and men dressed up in black suits. That gave it away enough.


    ¡°So our father is the boss of this place. Tell me about him.¡± I turned to Maria.


    ¡°What is there to tell¡­ He is the leader of the priests here, on paper we worship Ahdon¡­¡±


    I cut her.


    ¡°On paper.¡± I remarked.


    ¡°You already know this. It¡¯s a secret for those outside of the monastery, but for us inside we worship other deities. Ones that grants us¡­ Powers.¡± She said nonchalantly.


    ¡°I see.¡± I answered and looked around now with some greater understanding.


    ¡°Blood sacrifices? Orgies? What gets this place going?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She answered. ¡°All of those, and some more. Anything to reach the mysteries beyond. That¡¯s the way our order operates.¡±


    Humans¡­


    ¡°Tell me Maria. Have you ever participated in any of these?¡±


    ¡°Blood sacrifices, only. I don¡¯t have the need for any other stuff, father doesn¡¯t allow us either; it would be¡­ well unbecoming of our station like he likes to say. And I would never.¡± She said. Her tone serious.


    I got up and stood in front of her my hand in her chin. And I approached my face to hers.


    ¡°You are a pretty girl Maria, have you never done it? Not even with a single person?¡± I got close to her, attempting a kiss.


    Ruth behind me muttered a sound. A gasp? Interesting.


    Maria went red and then pushed me to the side and turned around.


    ¡°No.¡± She answered, obviously shaken.


    An introvert. I thought, as I crossed my arms.


    ¡°We are siblings¡­ Even in the band of Eryzirity there are lines that should not be crossed.¡± She said.


    ¡°I see, cutting and fucking each others in blood orgies is fine. But sibling fucking is where you draw the line. Fucking hypocrites.¡± I commented with a smirk.


    ¡°We do it by choice. For power, that¡¯s what the deities want. That¡¯s what we give them for their boons. But even power is not worth throwing away my dignity.¡± She spoke quite resolutely.


    I took a seat again by the edge.


    ¡°Is it not? I wonder what would you do if you had no other away forward. A choice, Power or pride? Choices, choices.¡± I clicked my tongue.


    ¡°The time to stop¡­ comes for everyone.¡± She muttered.


    ¡°Yes. I wonder what you will do in yours. Don¡¯t say it, I don¡¯t care. You my sweet girl, earned yourself the benefit of the doubt.¡±


    Moving to other matters.


    ¡°One last question. Why did I woke up in a bed, and why did you thought I was dead?¡±


    ¡°Our older brothers¡­ They don¡¯t take kindly to you for some stupid reason. Me and Ruth do our best to keep them away from you¡­ But Ruth is a cripple and I don¡¯t do miracles.¡± She sneered.


    ¡°I see. And what was I like before I woke up?¡± Intriguing.


    ¡°The opposite of what you show to be now. It seems they really did hit your head hard. You are a coward and a loser. Could not even learn the easiest spells even with me and father holding your hand. Always sick.¡± She said, hoping for a reaction.


    ¡°And? Did they beat me? What did they say, what does this father think?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, i have been looking out for you for as long as I remember. Ruth is very talented¡­ As for you¡­ well there is talk of a big sacrifice. I have done what I could, but I don¡¯t think I can change his damned mind.¡±


    ¡°Sacrificing his own flesh and blood¡­ Father is¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± She said quite disheartened.


    What a joke.


    ¡°Enough. Maria, you now work for me. I have uses for you. Come, there is much to do.¡±


    I gestured her to follow and went down the stairs.


    As soon as I stepped out of the belfry the girls behind me. Near a pound in this garden there were my new brothers. It seems they were both waiting for me.


    They hadn¡¯t spotted me yet. Their intentions are obviously clear.


    *Haa¡­* I breathed in. Boys of this age always seeking attention and some sort of validation.


    They are due to a lesson.


    Clearly; they are older than this body. Not older than me.


    ¡ª


    Maria¡¯s FOV


    Today has been quite a strange day, Adam my brother turned from a spineless donkey into a bloody maniac.


    This shameless away that he is acting today Is bringing me to the edge of my patience with him. Maybe this great sacrifice is a good idea after all.


    I love Ruth and she loves him, her twin. I have been protecting him all these years for her sake. But if he keeps acting this wild and crazy I am afraid I will be finally done with vouching for him.


    But I can¡¯t help but just come with him. Do as he says? Its something about his voice, his attitude.


    This¡­ Authority. Just like father.


    Right now I can¡¯t say if I am afraid for him, that he might do something stupid. Or that I am actually afraid¡­¡ª of him; but that¡¯s silly he is a weakling¡­ isn¡¯t he?


    No. He is just a boy, I am a fully fledged master.


    He cannot hurt me, he is the one who should be afraid, I am his better after all.


    I am following him down the ladder of the belfry. Soon we get out of the building.


    Rob and Dough are here.


    Waiting for him. I will not protect him again, not after the unceasing disrespect that he keeps showing me.


    They haven¡¯t noticed us coming down. Their backs are turned, he wants to sneak by them? I will get their attention. He is due to a lesson in manners.


    ¡°Hoy, ladies! Taking a piss are we?¡± Adam called out for his older brothers.


    Such disrespect! They are actual acolytes, nearly masters too; eventually¡­ while he isn¡¯t even worthy of the title he owns, some apprentices are actually stronger than him; pathetic boy.


    There is still a year before his first ceremony, and that is if he makes it out alive. Which he won¡¯t.


    Is he fucking stupid?


    ¡°Adam, was the last beating not good enough of a lesso¡ª¡± Our older brother Rob starts talking and immediately gets interrupted.


    Adam fucking sucker punched him in the teeth. I can see them flying out of his mouth as the older brother hits the ground.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± Dough shouted in panic. Then he started chanting a spell.


    ¡°Hurt!¡± A vacuum appeared in Adam shoulder. The bloody idiot is using the dismemberment curse on his brother.


    ¡°Dough!¡± I shouted. Too late to help Adam.


    He just stood there. Watching as the slow spell was activating.


    ¡°Move you idio¡­¡± I tried to help in panic.


    But he just lifted a finger and suddenly the spell disappeared.


    Spell cancellation? The Adam? He is just an acolyte, how is that possible, only some master¡¯s are capable of that spell.


    I looked again. A circle was appearing in Dough¡¯s thigh.


    THE FUCKING COUNTER-SPELL!???


    Dough had not even noticed it before a spring of blood busted out of his hip as his leg was separated an fell on the ground along with him.


    He panicked and screamed. Soaked in his own piss.


    ¡°FUCKER¡± He screamed his voice a shrike of pain.


    I rushed over to try and help him. He is scum, but also my brother. I had to help.


    ¡°Wath de fuuuk!?¡± Rob the elder brother got up by his knees stuttering between is broken teeth.


    I haven¡¯t even noticed when he grabbed it. Dough¡¯s dismembered leg was¡­ Well in Adam¡¯s hand being held by the ankle.


    He took the the leg. It hadn¡¯t stopped bleeding yet, blood covering him as he lifted it above his head.


    He used it like it was a some club on Rob¡¯s face.


    Over and over again.


    ¡°Haaaaa, Fuuck, Stooooep! ¡± Rob screamed between broken teeth.


    Smash.


    Smack.


    And bump.


    I could not help but cover my mouth with my hands at the bloody scene.


    Rob went unconscious.


    The bloody monster threw the leg back at Dough and clapped his hands.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s settled. Dear sister do show me the way to the nearest bath. I am positively covered in filth.¡± He looked at me and said as nothing just had happened.


    I looked around. The acolytes and apprentices were all around us watching the scene, there is no way that father was not going to find out about this.


    ¡ª


    Adam¡¯s FOV


    Ah nothing like bloody dismemberment to set the mood for a fresh start.


    I cracked my shoulders. As I stretched.


    ¡°Sure¡­ This way.¡± Maria got up and motioned me to follow. Such a helpful lass.


    I followed her and soon we entered a big bathroom with a pool. The water wasn¡¯t warm, but I have never been one for hot showers either. I immediately threw the silly robe away and stepped into the water.


    I could hear a gasp. ¡°Could you¡­! Not go naked in front of me!¡± Maria shouted.


    ¡°Never seen one before?¡± I asked. Amused.


    ¡°You shameless little! Arhgh!¡± She stomped her foot and went away slamming the door.


    I took a seat in the bath and started washing my arms.


    Funnily enough that quiet, weird little girl was still standing there., Ruth was her name I think.


    ¡°Want to join?¡± I asked.


    She immediately nodded and threw the robe away. Almost jumping in the water, butt-naked.


    ¡°Woah!¡­ You certainly ain¡¯t shy. You know¡­ I like your style.¡± I Laughed.


    She smiled and started imitating me. Washing herself.


    I looked at her. She is this body¡¯s twin it seemed. The same silver blonde hair and grey eyes with shades of purple, she is indeed quite a pretty young lass.


    She reminded me of my daughters for some reason¡­ ¡°Abella, Dae, Nev¡­¡°


    ¡°Nevauri.¡±


    Her eyes perked up.


    I notice I said their names aloud.


    ¡°So¡­ Your name is Ruth. I¡¯m afraid my memory isn¡¯t so fresh.¡± I changed the subject. ¡°Tell me¡­ How old are you?¡±


    She seemed confused at first but then. She lifted both her open hands and then she only kept up seven fingers.


    ¡°Seventeen, heh? The world is ours for the taking, am I right?¡± I laughed and she gave me a awkward smile.


    Laying back as I relaxed, I washed the blood off. The water turned red from my previous endeavour but I didn¡¯t care. Ruth rushed out of the bath when she noticed it. Still I wasn¡¯t in a hurry.


    And thought about my situation.


    Having gotten killed a few times in my whole existence, starts like this were nothing new.


    My first life was on earth. Born and raised, I loved music and started a band, I was¡­ happy, at first all things concerned. I had a family for a while and a girl that I was planning to confess to. Money wasn¡¯t good. But then again? When is it?


    Then the third world war started.


    I got drafted into the army and fought for my country, and in turn i got to watch as everyone that I ever loved dying and everything I cherished burning.


    I lost my mind back then. Turned into a rabid dog lost in hate and disgust. My masters pointed and I killed. I was good at it.


    That didn¡¯t make me less of a dog.


    In the end, I lived long enough to watch the world burn in nuclear fire from a good high up view.


    From back then I remember smiling.


    I don¡¯t know how or why, but I got a second chance. I started over in a world full of magic and wonderful things. Maybe this time I could finally be happy?


    Wrong.


    The place was cruel. Those with power murdered and took what they wanted, no remorse.


    Survival of the fittest.


    I realised that there is no such thing as peace and happiness, none that would last.


    I wanted to live. So I became strong, powerful enough that none would ever even think of hurting me or the ones I loved. I spat at death¡¯s notion and told its aspect to go fuck itself when I finally got to meet with it; it gave me its boon for impressing it back then... As some form of wicked mockery.


    Power was my life, my dream and my goal. My everything. Its pursuit. But its never enough. In this road there is always an higher being. A threat.


    At some point i even ended up in a place akin to heaven. There I actually got to be happy for a while. Not that It lasted.


    I could not stop, that place reminded me of that in the end. Stopping would be accepting defeat. I don¡¯t lose. Never again. For me, and for my daughters.


    My will, it had to be done.


    Now here I am again. A starting point, I need to find out about this world and a away to get back to where I was before. Go back to my daughters and wife. Take back my stuff, and move on to the next step in the road of power.


    That¡¯s it.


    This is just a minor setback.


    Find Nev, find out who plotted against me. And have my revenge. But that¡¯s the future, smart people think about the future.


    Geniuses about the present.


    Ruth was sitting in a table nearby reading something, when I heard the double doors open.


    It is time to meet this ¡®Father¡¯.

 003 - A pimp named slickAdam

    *Creak*


    The big wooden door opened, shoved by a huge hand.


    The man who entered was a rough burly monster, two meters tall. A bald head, and a full pointy grey beard, his eyes had shades of purple.


    His skin pale as a corpse; he wore a embroidered black robe the same as everyone here used, but this one was fancy. Clearly to embody a higher standing.


    What stood out the most was his golden necklace. An impaled man, in his head a wreath and his face sombre.


    Jesus on a pike?


    This world is clearly a mirror from hearth, an alternative dimension maybe? It seems its story is the same, despite some details and time-wise it seems to be at least a century behind it, according to the ¡®Imperatum¡¯.


    And of course. This world possesses magic. I did not know about earth, but I never came across it in my first life. So I assume; that there was none there.


    This place is not much different, though weak; it exists. That¡¯s a big difference.


    Imperatum, Or The order. In the whole of existence were all the worlds exist they set the rules and hold the highest power. Its also known as heaven amongst the mortals.


    Heaven and Hell were realms that served the same purpose for every different world in the known universe, meaning¡­ they were really big and rich places.


    Every ¡®World¡¯ has it own timeline. The correct present is established by this Imperatum, It decides where in the true timeline the present is. Travelling either to the past or the future of a given world is strictly forgiven. And incurs the divine wrath.


    I can¡¯t say if they do indeed keep any order or just want to monopolize dimensional travel. Knowing them, provably both.


    The divine wrath. Execution. Destruction of the soul.


    The final death. Not even death, they wouldn¡¯t meet it. They would just cease existence.


    They are dangerous fuckers.


    Either way I have a big cunt staring me down, and here I am musing the rules of the universe.


    I pay him no heed as he looks down on me. Ruth who is sitting nearby is shivering, she is clearly terrified of him. I keep washing myself as he stares at me in silence.


    I finish my bath and get up, pick back up my robe and underwear and dress up. Then I decide to walk out, trying to prove the man.


    A hammer of force quickly booms at my side which I manage to block with my elbow just barely. It sends me flying, crashing against the wall.


    I sit comfortably on the ground showing no pain nor surprise as I look up at the monster.


    ¡°An acolyte of Eryzirity greets his superiors with a bow.¡± He spoke in a quiet cold yet rough voice.


    I spat at his feet.


    *gasp*


    *BOOM*


    Ruth gasped and wall behind me boomed as the bigfoot smashed his boot at the my face.


    I avoided it easily enough.


    But the wall had a hole on it. He aimed to kill.


    I looked at it and him again. ¡°Impressive.¡± I complimented.


    ¡°You are not the one who is due to a impression.¡± Arrogance and disdain in his voice. ¡ª¡°I am.¡±


    He took the boot of the wall and pulled the table that Ruth was using before, leaving her sitting in her chair there; quiet like a mouse.


    He leaned on it, arms crossed.


    ¡°I hear that you had a fight. And won.¡± He frowned. ¡°Your older brothers came back to me. Disturbing my research, One missing his teeth the other holding his leg in his arms.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°Now tell me. How did my useless son that was always sick and smelling of piss, from night to night now possesses the same eyes as his old man.¡± His face a frown. He did not really asked, he demanded.


    I like his style.


    ¡°Tell me, dear father. What do you see in these eyes of mine?¡± I held his gaze.


    ¡°¡­ I see myself.¡± He paused to think. ¡°There is no greater pride for a father than to see a son holding up to his expectations.¡±


    Ho my¡­ ¡ªyou do think highly of yourself.


    He got out of the table and approached me. His towering figure overwhelming this feeble body of mine.


    ¡°Now to important matters. Counter-Spell. How?¡± He held his gaze. His whole demeanour made with intent to intimidate.


    I could only smirk at it. ¡°I learnt it, on a dream. Step-to-step and all. A big tidy goddess teaching me. ¡± I said almost laughing.


    His frown darkened.


    ¡°It¡¯s only wise for a sorcerer to withhold his sources. And as unlikely as it his for a deity to reach out to you in your¡­ ¡®Dreams¡¯¡± He crossed his arms and looked at a nearby window.


    ¡°Show me.¡± He paused and made a motion, not even muttering the incantation that the previous fool did.


    It was the same, a spiral in my chest conjuring a hole.


    This level could hardly be counted as magic. Much less sorcery, I don¡¯t even have have to make motions, easily casting the thing with only my mind. And amateur in my old world could do such things.


    Why not the Overlord?


    I simply moved the already cast spell. Aiming it at his ear.


    He looked at the side of his head. Dark blood flowing at the side of his head.


    Surprisingly enough he did not have a reaction or bothered to dodge it. He just nodded, and walked away.


    He suddenly stopped before the door. ¡°The next sunday come to my quarters. We shall discuss the next steps.¡±


    And that was that. I met my ¡®father¡¯, I wasn¡¯t expecting to be impressed but he managed. I was expecting a flood of questions.


    Demands, WHaT HaVE YoU DOne TO MY pOOr BAbiEEs!? and such. Well, that was that.


    ¡°Hey Ruth, what day is today?¡± I turned to my sister who was just standing in the corner.


    She put four fingers up.


    ¡°Wednesday, huh? Guess I have two days to get ready.¡± I looked at her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I have things to do¡­ and do put on some clothes, will you? I don¡¯t want to experience the reputation of having a nudist sister, or something queer like that.¡± I winked at her.


    She turned beet red and immediately started dressing up.


    There is no point in hiding my powers and what I am capable of. Right now they are capable of actually killing me, so its best if they are afraid of me. Have uses for me.


    Manipulation works both ways. And I am quite proud of my repertoire.


    We walked down the corridor as the other acolytes threw odd glances at me. They all did, it seems that now I have a reputation. An improvement to be sure.


    Ruth didn¡¯t say much, I liked that about her.


    I eventually came out of the monastery, found an exit; the main gate. And there she was.


    ¡°We live in a monastery for a reason. There is no interacting with the outside world, their ways of debauchery is a plague upon our purpose. Higher learning.¡±


    My beloved helpful sister was sitting on a cairn along the stony wall next to the road, reading a bible. Sitting with her legs sideways. Her pigtails resting on her shoulders.


    ¡°You a guard or something?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have been tasked to keep an eye on you. Yes.¡± She closed the book and stared at me.


    ¡°Then come. I have the need to debauch myself a little.¡± I walked along the road in direction of the town, which wasn¡¯t far.


    She quickly rushed over to my side.


    ¡°It is prohibited.¡± She frowned and stood up to me. Blocking my way.


    ¡°I just had a talk with dear old father.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°You did!?¡± She gasped.


    ¡°Let us say, that our dear brothers¡­ what I did to them was the least of their misfortunes. You see, he now acquaints himself to my way of doing things. So what if his beloved heir, decides to break a few rules.¡± I lied through my teeth.


    Still ¡®Ass¡¯ and ¡®Balls¡¯ ¡®whatstheirname¡¯ should have a pretty bad time. He was clearly pissed about having his research interrupted.


    ¡°HE WHAT!?¡± She shouted. ¡°I am the heir!! I am the most talented sorcerer after him! How dare you take my place!?¡± She showed a fire that I didn¡¯t knew she had in her. I hit a nerve.


    ¡°You sick fuck! I demand a duel. RIGHT NOW! He must see the error of his ways.¡± I had done it now.


    ¡°Calm yourself tits. You actually dare to oppose the high priest¡¯s decision, his will!?¡± I smiled towards her.


    ¡°WHAT!? ¡­No, I wouldn''t¡¯¡± She quietly panicked now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I am such a magnanimous brother that I shall grant your request. After we visit this town.¡± I patted her head, and walked away.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Tsk. You better, what is it that you are going to do there? There is nothing for our kind there.¡± She walked back to my side. She sure got it under control quickly.


    ¡°Guess.¡± I teased.


    ¡°You are going to get dr¡­ YOU PIG, YOU NOT GOING TO TAKE RUTH WITH YOU TO A BROTH¡­¡±


    I hushed her.


    ¡°No.¡±


    She sighted.


    ¡°You have a dirty mind.¡± I commented.


    ¡°Whatever¡­ I give up.¡± She was quite down now as we walked down the hill.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Cheer up dearest sister. You might end up having fun for the first time in your life.¡± I said with a mocking tone when we reached the entrance of the town.


    ¡°I will have you kno¡­¡±


    ¡°State your business, please.¡± A guard cut her as she was going to complain or something. We reached the town¡¯s main entrance.


    Time does fly while conversating.


    ¡°Broth¡ª¡­¡±


    ¡°We are here in a supply run. Move aside.¡± Maria cut me off and spoke.


    The guard looked down at us and noticed our black robes. His entire demeanour immediately changed.


    ¡°Of course your holinesses. Go right in.¡± He spoke as he motioned.


    We walked inside. It was an average, identical to a eighteenth century english town. This side of the town seemed quite poor though. The street were covered in manure, and there were many small factories around.


    There were many tall buildings in the distance, clearly the rich side of the place. The poor lived in the slums like always and that meant, it is supposed to have a slums somewhere nearby.


    Still, I can see a few big houses and stores here.


    There were some well-dressed people with black tuxedos. But most of them were dressed in more modest clothing like linen, pointing out they were working folk and others with


    somewhat more fancy attire were probably house servants.


    They threw wary glances at us, it seems the churches aren¡¯t that popular among the common folk.


    We spotted many carriages pulled by horses as we walked, It seems I found one of the sources of the shit.


    ¡°Do you have any idea were we going?¡± Maria asked after some time of walking.


    ¡°What? You tired already? I¡¯m taking the sights.¡± I answered.


    ¡°And the smells.¡± She complained.


    ¡°Do you have any cash?¡± I asked her and Ruth.


    Ruth just shook her head.


    ¡°I am a priestess.¡±


    ¡°And I am a priest, i think.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Come on then Maria. Let me teach how to make money.¡± I smiled as I walked into a dark alley. The girls followed behind me.


    ¡°What on hell are you plotting!?¡±


    I pointed at a bar around the corner.


    ¡°See that place? Soon enough a man in some fancy suit will come out.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± She asked. Clearly puzzled.


    I pointed at her chest and to Ruth.


    ¡°What on hell are you pointing at!¡± She snapped.


    ¡°See those puppies on your chests? They aren¡¯t just for show.¡± I started opening her robe.


    She shoved me. Of course in this weak body I could do nothing but to take a few steps back.


    ¡°Are you mad!? You bastard!¡± She shouted.


    I crossed my arms. And threw her a sombre glance.


    ¡°Do you want me to go to father? Tell him how much you have been bothering me?¡± A little blackmail goes a long way.


    ¡°You¡­ You aren¡¯t getting away with this!¡± I kept sombrely staring at her, and she eventually relented. ¡°Fine¡­ What¡¯s your¡­ plan¡± She muttered. Clearly angry.


    No matter. She is so afraid of the man, I don¡¯t even care to think how far she could go just not to risk his anger.


    Fear is power, I¡¯m afraid. And I do so love power.


    I stepped close to her and unbuttoned her chest. Only showing a bit of her breasts, and her pink bra.


    She only looked away flushed.


    I looked at Ruth. ¡°Come here my sweet.¡± She stood upright. Weird girl.


    Doing the same to her, she only blushed. While Maria frowned and awkwardly shook her head.


    ¡°You should be ashamed. Pig¡± She commented.


    ¡°Ho, by all means complain about making yourself useful.¡± I rebuked.


    As I done the same with Ruth, I took another good look at her.


    A petite girl with wavy greyish silver blonde hair. Her almond eyes were the same colour as her sister and brothers, Hers however had traces of purple. Just like my new body and our ¡®father¡¯.


    Although she was slim and had a small bosom, she didn¡¯t lose to her sister in looks. ¡ªWhich was even taller than me and had those puffy cow tits.


    They were both real lookers though, no way a honeytrap isn¡¯t going to work.


    With both girls prepared; i laid out the plan.


    ¡°That corner over there.¡± I pointed. ¡°Eventually some old man in a suit will come out. You two walk into him.¡± I explained, both girls just looking at me like they seen a ghost.


    ¡°And¡­ We take his purse?¡± Maria interrupted.


    Dumb cow.


    ¡°No, my dearest sister. You throw him a compliment. Pass a hand in his crotch, tell him how big he is.¡± I said, with a dead serious expression.


    They gasped. ¡°How¡­ Ho, Hoow!?¡± Maria¡¯s eyebrows twitched her mouth wide open. ¡°Hoow¡­ WHAT!?¡± She hissed.


    ¡°Just compliment him! Say something nice. And then drag him over here.¡±


    I grinned. As I pointed to my back with my thumb making them look to the dark alley.


    ¡°Say something Nice¡­ Okay, got it, then what? Don¡¯t tell me we will fu¡­.¡± She said and I interrupted her.


    ¡°Nothing like that.¡± I took a beer bottle from the ground and smashed it on the wall.


    ¡°I stab him.¡± I smiled playing with the bottle in my fingers.


    They both gasped. ¡°You will murder a man in broad daylight, are you mad!?¡±


    ¡°Well yes. We are going to rob him no!?¡± I asked, clearly confused by her logic.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just¡­ You know, knock him out?¡±


    ¡°Robbing without killing!? And you call me mad.¡± I tsked. Amateurs. ¡°That way he will see your faces, unless you want a ugly drawing of both of you, one that says ¡®Wanted¡¯ I don¡¯t suggest it.¡±


    They looked at each other.


    ¡°Go on, I¡¯m waiting. Don¡¯t forget to show off your ¡®assets¡¯.¡± I motioned them away with a shoo.


    And they went.


    I looked up to the blue sky between tall building, from this dark alley and sighted.


    What a fine day to pimp my sisters. Always trying new things, and me starting to think that living was getting boring.


    ¡ª¡ª-


    Maria¡¯s FOV


    What a fucking dogshit eater pigheaded cur of a brother I found myself stuck with!!!


    ¡®Keep and eye on him!¡¯ Father said after months without talking to me. Then the fucker comes and threatens me with him!


    Now here I am walking in the street like a common whore. Showing off my privacy.


    I looked at Ruth.


    Poor girl, I just don¡¯t get what she sees in him. Before he was a disgusting pig coward; good for nothing.


    And now, from out of the nowhere. He turns into a rogue, a maniac and a even more of a disgusting scum!


    She always shadowed him like a lost puppy. That decease is not all of her, she is talented with magic and loves reading. Even father took note of that, I saw him nodding in approval


    one time that he watched her practice. He never did that to me and I am the best of his students!


    I don¡¯t know what happened between them. But she sure loves him, he asked her to do shameful thing and she didn¡¯t even flinch.


    Blackmailing me. The dare!


    We leaned by the door of this alehouse. Ruth did the same.


    ¡°Hey, sis. I¡¯m sorry that you are stuck with him. And doing this, I hate it too you know¡­¡±


    She just shook her head.


    ¡°Someday you have to let him go; you are better than that, live your own life.¡±


    She just looked away and pointed at the door.


    A man in a black suit and a round belly was walking out of the bar. I could smell the alcohol in his breath from here.


    How¡­ Do I do this!?


    I rushed in, walking into the man.


    My body pressed on his. He groaned. Disgusting.


    He looked down to my chest. DISGUSTING


    I could see his yellow broken teeth and the sweat in his forehead. I think he might have lice too!


    ¡°Lass, maybe we should get a room.¡± He said between his stinky breath as he held his face close to mine.


    DISGUST¡­DISTIIING. IM GOING TO PUKE.


    I managed not to. Miracle.


    In a revulsion I brought my hand to his lower parts. And felt it.


    ¡°Wha..WHat a ni¡­nII..nICe, youo ha¡­HAve. Big, RO..Round. Be¡­¡± I looked down. ¡°Belly.¡± I spurted out.


    ¡°What!?¡± He blurted out.


    I took him by the arm, gripping it hard against my chest.


    He came, he did not resist. Weird. Thank Ahdon that man are disgusting lecherous pigs, I don¡¯t think I would have the strength to drag him, should he had resisted.


    Ruth did the same, also dragging him. His other arm on her chest.


    ¡°Today is my lucky day!!!¡± He laughed pervertedly and disgustingly ¡°Not one! But two goddesses sent from heaven to bless old Robert!¡±


    Please let this end.


    Soon we reached the alley. He was nowhere to be seen.


    The man placed an hand in the inner of my thigh. And dragged me against the wall.


    Licking my neck.


    DISGUSTING. IM FUCKING GOING TO MURDER HIM.


    ¡°REAP.¡° I muttered as i casted the spell on instinct.


    Ruth gasped and made a noise knocking something over.


    Before the spell came off. He appeared.


    Adam. Sticking a broken beer bottle in his neck from his back, in and out


    The men fell on the ground and Adam just kept at it, long after he was dead. Stab, Stab. Cut and grab.


    He smashed the man¡¯s skull against the concrete floor afterwards and only laughed.


    Like¡­ ¡ª a real maniac¡­


    ¡°So much blood¡­¡± I muttered, as I cancelled the spell.


    ¡ª¡ª-


    I watched as the light went off his eyes.


    Its been a while since I last drew blood. That hero as been the last one who bleed for me. Hero or drunkard, blood is all the same.


    I got up and threw the bloody bottle into the trash.


    A bulging purse in my hands. Good thing the girls managed to snatch a rich fucker at the first time.


    Not like I couldn¡¯t keep at it the whole day.


    But still, there are other things I would rather do.


    The girls were staring at me and the body like I was some sort of maniac. Hey! I¡¯m not crazy I¡¯m just¡­ Well me.


    I griped at his shoulders lifting him up a little.


    ¡°What are you two looking at!? Come give me an hand.¡± Fat bugger.


    Ruth nodded and lifted his feet.


    Maria just shook her head and helped lifting by the side.


    We dumped the body in a nearby trash container.


    Once we opened it, we saw another body. A dead woman, a whore judging by her clothes. Looks like I¡¯m not the only pimp in town. Joking, still better get out of here.


    My robes were a little bloody. But red in black is not that noticeable.


    ¡°You are an absolute lunatic.¡± Maria said.


    ¡°You keep mentioning.¡± I answered. I do am starting to get touchy on the subject.


    We entered a nearby tavern and sat in a free table.


    The girls were still looking at me.


    ¡°Well, we did the job as three. So I¡¯m willing to throw a first time bonus for you two. Don¡¯t get used to it.¡± I said.


    ¡°Maria, you did a superb job. You do have talent in this line of work. You can close your robe now.¡± I teased her.


    Ruth already did it a while ago.


    ¡°You¡­ Are unbelievable.¡± Anger was evident on her face.


    ¡°You can keep them that way. I don¡¯t mind at all!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ going to fucking murder you.¡± She said in a low voice as she concealed her cleavage.


    ¡°Well, anyway. Here take a look. How much is this worth?¡± I threw the purse at her. I did not recognize this currency.


    ¡°Three hundred pound sterlings.¡± She said as she counted.


    ¡°Good. One hundred for each of us.¡± I replied.


    She threw the purse back at me.


    ¡°I did it because you blackmailed me. I¡¯m not some whore who goes out chasing men to bring you profit and get a cut. Keep your damned money.¡± She crossed her arms.


    I divide the money and gave an half to Ruth.


    She took it. Smart girl.


    I nodded, and then called over the waiter in this place, who was standing not too far.


    He nodded, and did just so.


    ¡°What will it be, sir and madams?¡± The man was wearing a white shirt with a tie and black pants. This place has standards it seems, as he handed the menu¡¯s book.


    The prices were high as I glanced over. But then again, I didn¡¯t had to work to earn this money.


    So who cares.


    ¡°I will take the lamb and the best vintage on the house.¡± I handed over the menu to Maria.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ Have any money...¡± She glanced to the sides awkwardly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s only a favour you will owe me, how bad could it possibly be? Ask whatever you want, don¡¯t you worry.¡± I teased her.


    ¡°You¡­ You know what!? I¡¯m not hungry.¡± ¡ª*GROWL*


    Her stomach rumbled audibly. ¡°Agghhh, I hate you.¡± She muttered.


    ¡°I will take the chicken and a glass of water.¡± She said and then started complaining in that way she always did, as she handed the menu to Ruth.


    She pointed what she wanted and we sent the waiter off.


    ¡°So, Maria my dearest sister. I noticed the people throwing weird gazes at us. What¡¯s their deal?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the stains of blood in your robe.¡± She answered nonchalantly


    ¡°No it isn¡¯t. They were staring before I¡­ well.¡±


    ¡°Brother.¡± She looked around making sure no one else was listening. ¡°As you know, we worship Ahdon. But there are other rumours, malicious rumours. Started by fools with more free time than sense. It is why we at the monastery are prohibited from coming out. Understand?¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I was against the shit you pulled off today. But I can¡¯t seem to pull any sense into that thick skull of yours or go against you without you ending my whole career, or doing something even more stupid.¡± She mumbled.


    ¡°We priests visit town; first time in a long while, next day a man of status shows up murdered. I wonder what will happen¡­¡± I smirked as I spoke.


    She threw me a sharp glare. ¡°Whatever you are trying to pull. I suggest you be careful, there is a reason our order values secrecy and covers it¡¯s tracks; there are many who would see us burn. And before they do, father will have your head.¡± The girl threatened.


    ¡°Why are you always such a grouchy cunt?¡±


    ¡°And why are you always a sordid prick?¡±


    ¡°Maybe we will fit together after all.¡± I laughed.


    She giggled. ¡°Okay, I will give you that one.¡±


    The waiter started bringing over out our food and drinks, so we kept quiet as he worked. A plate of lamb with roasted potatoes, and a fine vintage for me. Maria got roasted chicken with rice. And Ruth pork and rice, she asked for the same wine as me. I wonder if it is her first time drinking.


    ¡°Hey Ruth. Easy on that stuff, this is a strong one and nicely aged too, not beginner friendly you know?¡± I warned her. Not like I¡¯m going to stop her, am I what? Her brother. Bah, let the girl be happy.


    ¡°Sis, you know. You brother is a degenerate, but you need to keep your head straight. We have to take care of him. You know?¡± Maria warned.


    She shook her head and took a big gulp.


    Then turned beet red. And spat... ¡ªAll over my robe.


    ¡°I told you this was too strong for you, chunder bunny.¡± I said unimpressed. Not like it bothers me. The darn thing was already tainted red and I hadn¡¯t even started. Maybe it will hide the bloodstains.


    I drank.


    ¡°Chuggler what?¡± Maria asked smirking.


    ¡°Chunder bunny.¡± I corrected her. ¡°Well¡­ I had a buddy from long ago from a far off land, we partied together and went off chasing girls.¡±


    ¡°You!? A friend. Don¡¯t lie you never had any friends. Creep.¡± She raised an eyebrow.


    Dammit, I¡¯m talking to much.


    ¡°Yes, like you were watching me my whole life all the time. Like one of those thirsty stalker girls.¡± I teased her.


    She went red. ¡°Thirsty!? For you? Dream on.¡± She started eating. Wanting to change the topic.


    I did too. Ruth was already half-way through her meal. Her cheeks rosy.


    ¡°Damn. This stuoff¡­ Ish the stuoff!¡± Maria nodded as she talked with her mouth full.


    ¡°Well. Lets make this our little secret then. We come over to eat here from time to time, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m dying to err¡­ go back for the monastery¡¯s cantina food. ¡± I approved.


    Ruth nodded. Maria did too.

 004 - The art of skullduggery

    We had our fill. I drank more than this body can reasonably afford to, still it¡¯s unbefitting for a demon lord to blunder in his drink.


    Weird¡­ I don¡¯t seem to be getting affected by alcohol. But I should¡­ More the shame. ¡ªHo well.


    Ruth managed to finish her glass. Good girl.


    We ended up each paying our own. Me and Ruth paid each half of Maria¡¯s dinner. Now she owed a favour to us both.


    We walked out of the tavern listening to her complaining and regretting not to have had taken the money. She learned a lesson it seems, take what you can get.


    The place where we ate was empty. Provably due to the exorbitant prices.


    Still. I had a goal, gather information. So had to head off somewhere else.


    ¡°Where to next?¡± Maria asked as she patted her belly.


    ¡°Already homesick?¡± I asked as we walked by the side of the road, the place was quite crowded.


    ¡°Actually¡­ I¡¯m having fun.¡± She admitted.


    ¡°It sucks to be always stuck in one place, everyday doing the same thing. Bad for your mind you know? Sometimes we have to go and try new things.¡± I commented.


    ¡°Wha¡­t? That¡¯s actually quite insightful coming from you. But it¡¯s not like that, in our way of life we are meant to always learn new things, always improve I mean. ¡± She answered.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s more of the same. Lets do something different. You know, new?¡± I pointed to a nearby establishment.


    She looked at it. And then at me, then at it again. And then¡­ At me.


    ¡°THATS A BROTHEL YOU FU¡­ jUST WHen I thought you had gotten smarter you pull of one like this.¡± She rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not new for me but you know¡­ for you it certainly is, its time to turn into a real mature woman my dear sister!¡± I teased her.


    She pushed me against the wall in fury.


    Her face was flushed.


    ¡°You know¡­ I¡¯m not a well, I did it before. I¡¯m not a child¡­ That girl and I she¡­¡± Her eyes looked rather sad.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t count.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    ¡°On my way.¡± I headed off to the brothel.


    She placed an hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°You are seventeen, and Ruth too. That¡¯s not a place for¡­ well kids. I¡¯m not setting a foot in such a disgusting place.¡± She spoke with a serious expression.


    ¡°Fine then. I can think of somewhere else.¡±


    A brothel was a perfect place to gather information. Well if I happened to fiddle with a tit or two, I wouldn¡¯t argue either. Still, I got these kids with me.


    We walked a while and I stepped into a clothing store nearby.


    Ruth looked around in awe, Maria too. Woman love this sort of thing. And these too only know dark robes and sandals. Its not like I would be paying; Ruth had money and Maria, well she can owe favours.


    ¡°I hate you.¡± She said.


    I looked around. Big store, there was a side for men¡¯s clothing and another for woman. All divided in breeches, shirts, foot-ware. That sort of thing, another place had already made out combinations of suits and dresses. All very chic.


    I pointed at a simple black suit, an affordable one and a clerk went and took it off. Giving it to me to try it out.


    I went to the dresser and put it on, the girls waited outside. This body was a lot smaller than my original so I had no issue dressing up. Still a lot of buttons were giving me trouble.


    I puled my head out.


    ¡°Hey Ruth come over here.¡± I motioned I called out to the girl who was looking at lady¡¯s shoes not far away.


    She came.


    Of course I didn¡¯t want Maria, she never shuts up.


    Ruth is simply, Better.


    Maria was somewhere else. Provably gawking at dresses she couldn¡¯t afford.


    ¡°Come on in.¡± I said as she hesitated. ¡°C¡¯mon we bathed together the other day, don¡¯t be shy. I need help with all these buttons.¡±


    She entered and helped me out, even trying to do the tie, I had to teach her. She eventually managed after a few tries.


    I bet the other one would spend the entire day trying to tie a tie.


    Ruth is a good girl. I patted her head.


    ¡°You are a lot smarter that your sister.¡± She just smiled and nodded.


    I combed my hair and tied it up in a ponytail. This fucker had long hair. Like some guitarist, I would too if it wasn¡¯t a pain in the ass to maintain it.


    Fuck, a guitar. It¡¯s been a while since I last played. I Need to find a way to get one, no way I will find one in this world.


    It was also a pain last time too.


    Well just need to reach out to a few of my contacts in hell.


    I waited a while for the girls to dress up.


    ¡ª


    Someone poked my forehead; and I woke up¡­. Must have dozed off.


    Of course, Ruth.


    She was wearing a simple black and grey dress with stockings and lace up shoes. Her hair was neatly combed and she seemed to have done some make up too.


    She did a little spin showing off.


    Maria was standing behind her with her arms crossed. She got a neat red dress and a hat. Her ponytails were no more, she had let her wavy long hair go free, she made a fringe too.


    What I noticed more was her new make up.


    She had it done like some goth chick before, now she looked like more of a mature woman, with red lipstick and all that. She looked five years older.


    ¡°Done gawking?¡± She commented.


    ¡°Considering I¡¯m the one paying. Well at least I can say you look good.¡± I answered.


    ¡°Well¡­ You look good too. Not like some cavemen I know.¡±


    I shrugged, and went to the counter to pay. The numbers were the same just like last time.


    Maria didn¡¯t look very comfortable about it. Well¡­ The things I will make her do! I can¡¯t help but grin.


    We walked out of the store. Now looking like people, the ugly stares stopped too.


    Humans are such simple creatures.


    We walked a while. And soon we reached our next stop.


    The opera.


    ¡°Is this¡­ Is this an opera! I¡­I always wanted to see one!¡± Maria was all smiles.


    ¡°Ladies¡­ We aren¡¯t here on a sunday trip.¡± I turned serious as I looked at them. ¡°Enjoy the music, watch the show.¡±


    I pulled them to the side of the entrance


    ¡°Our goal is to gather information. We live all cloistered up and all, so its important to do this sometimes.¡± I spoke.


    Ruth nodded.


    Maria took a newspaper that was on the shelf in the nearby wall and gave it to me.


    ¡°Won¡¯t this do?¡± She had an innocent look on her face.


    What can I say¡­ Kids.


    I took it and tore it apart. ¡°Don¡¯t read this lass. It¡¯s all propaganda, advertising and lies. That¡¯s media, they don¡¯t provide any kind of information, they are all about entertainment; the only use they have is to manipulate the fools who actually believe this nonsense.¡± I keenly educated her.


    ¡°O¡­ kay¡± She said, with some new expression on her face.


    I continued.


    ¡°Real information is gathered by walking, listening and observing.¡± I motioned with my fingers around showing them the different people around. Nobles, merchants, some soldiers and such. ¡°In places like this.¡°


    ¡°Go in. Mingle with the folks, spin¡¯em a yarn. Make up some story and see what they say. Lean on some corner and listen while they do business and talk. There is much to learn from simple conversations and common encounters.¡±


    Maria and Ruth nodded.


    ¡°One more thing. We need an alibi.¡±


    ¡°An what?¡± She said.


    ¡°A background. Make sure they think we are worth their breath.¡±


    ¡°How do you know these things? And how are you so good at this?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I will tell you another time. If I feel like it.¡± I replied


    ¡°Your name is¡­ Dulce, and I am John. We are married, and this is our cute daughter¡­ Abella¡± I pointed to Ruth. ¡°We came from a rich country far away called¡­ America. We are here in the oil business.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± She gasped.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Good luck.¡± I took her arm and Ruth¡¯s hand and walked in.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°We are siblings! We three look to much alike! They will see that something is off!¡± Maria whispered complaining.


    ¡°My dear, you do know this is normal in our homeland ¡­ ¡ªAlabama!¡± I couldn¡¯t say this without grinning.


    ¡°What exactly is the issue?¡± I smirked.


    She just face-palmed.


    ¡ª-


    Ruth¡¯s FOV


    Adam gave me his hand. He hadn¡¯t done this since we were little, playing hide and seek with the other kids back home.


    We walked through this weird place. He is all smiles along with our bitch sister Maria.


    She helped protect him from father. I can respect that, but only because I made her do it, by helping her with a spell that she couldn¡¯t get right.


    I hate her. She always been an arrogant cow for him, sometimes even joining those dog brothers of ours and other kids, bullying him.


    The way she boasts to dad out of envy, because he notices I am better than her, the never-ending complaints.


    And now he takes her by the arm, supposed to be his wife in this little game we are playing.


    Why not me!?


    I¡¯m better! Father knows! He even said so himself.


    I glared at her.


    She didn¡¯t notice. She never notices anything.


    I hate her.


    Now he had this huge change. More confident, ruthless just like dad¡­ and always with aces up his sleeves. Everything a dark priest must strive for.


    And the bitch is now all smiles! Blablabla here blabla there¡­! Now you notice how great he is!? Bloody frump.


    I wish¡­ I could speak again, tell her this to her face. Fuck her.


    Just because she got those¡­ I looked down. Well we are supposed to be sisters why aren¡¯t mine like hers!? Why does she get big and I am five feet tall? I¡¯m seventeen, I should be getting bigger. Brother is almost as tall as her and he is my age. We are twins!


    I will prove she is useless and I am better. Even though I don¡¯t need it I will.


    ¡°Something the matter little Abella?¡± He asked me, I think he noticed how uncomfortable I was.


    Wait¡­! Little!?


    You¡­ Dork!


    I stomped his foot and shook my head.


    ¡°Aghh, that was uncalled for.¡± He poke me on the side. And made an expression.


    Ho, right we are playing at spy stuff. I think he might be reading one of my books when he hides in the closet for some reason.


    Wait this is my chance! I can prove I am better than her. I just have to gather all the information in this place. Once I do¡­ I can write it down for him. He will pat me in the head again.


    We walked a while the opera is about to start. All of these well dressed folks are talking.


    He approached a group of them and entered the conversation. I just stood quiet by his side, like the usual. Why can¡¯t I talk¡­ If I only I remembered why suddenly could not do it any more maybe I could do more than just stalk in the shadows like a some¡­ rat.


    I was very young when I lost my speech. Every time I try to remember a headache goes over my head, and sometimes I even faint.


    What am I supposed to do¡­


    ¡°Greetings sirs, madams.¡± We joined a group of these¡­ people with dumb wigs. And Adam started talking.


    ¡°Why, hello gentle-folks i have never seen you before. What brings you to Doncaster? ¡± A thin Man in a suit and a top hat with a moustache and a monocle answered.


    ¡°Business my friends me and my wife come from America, Oil business. My name is John and this here is Anna, the little one is Abella our sweet daughter.¡± Adam answered.


    He is good at this¡­ wonder how, last week he was too afraid to ask another student for a quill. I had to do it for him and I can¡¯t even¡ª ¡­Well talk.


    ¡°Pleasure.¡± The bitch said with a smile.


    I just nodded. I mean what else?


    ¡°America!? You must be a really daring individual to actually venture into such dreadful places and even settle!¡± One of these individuals answered with disbelief.


    ¡°Ho hush Antony, clearly this gentleman is a truly remarkable individual!¡± One of them said as he sized Adam up. Sharp that one¡­


    Then he continued, shaking Adam¡¯s hand.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet such estimated guests to our little community! My name his Everan and this is¡­¡± He introduced his friends, nodding his head and talking... A lot. Self-interested twits.


    They were chatting about stock¡­ whatever that is and Maria even started giggling with the other woman. I noticed that some rich teens and soon considered adults; to regular people¡¯s standards were looking at me.


    I hated when people looked at me.


    I touched Adam to get his attention.


    ¡°What is it my sweet?¡± He said.


    I motioned pointing at them with my head.


    ¡°I see.¡± He turned to the men he was talking with.


    ¡°The young ones are giving funny looks to my daughter here, why not introduce them?¡± He asked.


    I could not help but cringe at this.


    We are the same age you dork! Just because you got a suit and all that¡­ acting, posture whatever doesn¡¯t make a grown up!


    But he is really good at this. Maybe our natural silver hair helps, they haven¡¯t even mentioned his age!


    Maria had that slutty dress and bosom, and face painted like a clown. No wonder she managed it too.


    Well I get to be the daughter. Not like I can have a conversation anyway.


    ¡°Of course!¡± One of the man who he was talking to immediately answered and motioned the younger ones over.


    They came. Three boys and two girls, maybe they are sons and daughters or maybe cousins of these fancy folk, who knows.


    They are obviously younger than me¡­ ¡ªBut I am quite short though so¡­ well it works.


    ¡°This is Tristan Read, my son.¡± He tapped one of the boys on the shoulder. He seemed to be the leader. Blonde hair, green eyes. Handsome.


    The other men said names and showed off their kids.


    I didn¡¯t bother to pay attention. And just nodded.


    ¡°Shy little girl yours, is she?¡± The man from before asked.


    ¡°Ho no! She doesn¡¯t have any shyness in her! She just¡­ Well a rare condition, she can¡¯t really talk. We had all kinds of doctors and mystics from all over the world to try and help, but she never got her speech. Poor girl.¡± Adam looked really dejected as he said it.


    Idiot¡­ showing off.


    ¡°Ho, I see¡­ Poor lass. Tristan, show the girl around. And be nice to her.¡± His voice had a weight. It really seems these fancy folks fell for Adam¡¯ story like dumb little ducks.


    ¡°Of course father, it will be my honour.¡± The blonde answered, looking a little spooked at his father¡¯s tone. If only you met my real dad¡­ Idiot.


    ¡°Come on, let us let the old folks to their thing.¡± He motioned for me to follow him.


    I guess Adam entertains the men, Maria¡­ Well whatever that she does. And me, I have to babysit the kids; who turn out to be almost our age.


    Darn it¡­ I¡¯m used to the short straw by now.


    I joined the group.


    They made me hear their dumb names again. Not like I will be able to use them.


    ¡°This is Abella, she comes from America!¡± The blond said.


    ¡°America? Isn¡¯t that place a hellhole filled with devils?.¡± A boy with brown curls asked. He had said his name was Otto.


    ¡°It is also a truly rich country in natural resources and nearly unlimited riches. My father said that.¡± The boy tristan pointed out. ¡°To those who had the guts and the wealth to establish there, of course.¡± He quickly added.


    ¡°Our family was meant to move there too! But father decided against it¡­ It is no place to raise a family, he said so we stayed here in Great britain.¡± A girl with also blonde hair and green eyes spoke. She introduced herself as Tristan¡¯s sister, Elena.


    I have heard of this, truly what did Adam take America for?


    ¡°Nice dress. You are really pretty.¡± Another girl random girl said.


    Goddammit, I¡¯m used to have many people around due to have grown, well¡­ in a church that took in orphans and trained them to be sorcerers. But I never¡­ well.


    Been good with people.


    This is awkward. I can¡¯t answer, how am I going to talk with them.


    So I just smiled.


    ¡°She is mute, a decease she was born with. But no matter! You are twice as pretty than these too unprepossessing maids.¡± The blonde lad said with a smile, and the girls punched him gently.


    My brother would drown you, idiot.


    ¡°Look at her! She is blushing! The other girl said.¡±


    Damn it.


    We took a seat and I spent twenty minutes answering lies of yes and no questions from these spoiled skunks. Then they went on about shit that their parents bought for them.


    Things I never even knew existed.


    They talked about some sailor who claimed some country, an Eastern Austra-something for Britain.


    And then about the death of some painter.


    Maybe Adam wanted to know this so¡­ I tried to pay attention. They were really boring me, interesting talk is about new spells and powerful entities that we came into contact from the beyond. Nothing like this.


    They really seem to live in their own little world. Unaware of the darkness underneath.


    An announcement was made in a loud voice. I thought it was a spell, but no just some fancy machine they had.


    The opera was starting.


    The blonde girl took my hand and guided me through the crowd. I wanted to refuse, only my brother could take my hand! But she was nice¡­ So I didn¡¯t mind.


    We eventually took a seat all together.


    I couldn¡¯t see Adam nor Maria. These kids really were weird, aren¡¯t they supposed to watch an opera close to their parents?


    I bet she is rubbing those filthy paws all over him, like the bitch she is. Acting like she is his wife.


    No I can¡¯t even imagine it. I would sacrifice her to Ghrexh¡¯itru.


    ¡ª-


    Adam¡¯s FOV


    ¡°Maria, you have to play the part, get close to me. We are supposed to be a couple!¡±I whispered.


    She narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°You wish.¡± She whispered too, with that attitude of hers.


    The opera started. As the singers began, I took her hand.


    I couldn¡¯t have her blow our cover now! People don¡¯t come to an opera to watch the show. They come to show off and gossip. If I am to have business in the future with these fools I need to have a good impression.


    She of course resisted. But I managed to put her in place with a sharp glare.


    I wonder how Ruth is doing. So far I have learned about the trade flows and some wars that were going on.


    I can¡¯t yet place the year we are on. This really is earth¡¯s mirror as far as I have gathered. The story seems to be the exact same for the most part. At least here in england; after the death of Christ I mean, here it his Ahdon.


    If I am to study story I am better off in the monastery than chatting up these buffoons.


    However that Everan fellow seems to run a mystic shop here in town with records dating back before the death of this Ahdon.


    They use the same Gregorian calendar. But instead of BC it is BA, before Ahdon. The AD hasn¡¯t changed, It still stands for Anno Domini- The year of the lord.


    I will investigate the monastery about this first. I have a feeling that magic used to be more substantial in the older centuries.


    It is not unheard of from what I have gathered when I asked about the rumours of the monastery it seemed.


    Why am I so obsessed with magic? Simple, i need to go back home. Sort this mess, and go back to my plots. I can only do an interdimensional travel with magic.


    The opera is going well. The singers are good as far as I can tell, i never been one for opera myself. Maria is starting to warm up to the ladies, maybe she can still make herself useful.


    It would be unbefitting for me to go about crawling in the shadows now that I have warmed up to these men. They really are set on buttering me up.


    Backwater; seemingly rich country folk provably knee deep in debts. Trying to make a buck with the oil tycoon, they are playing it quite well despite the obvious. ¡ªmost of them can tell that oil is the future, some doubt it but they are fools.


    That separates who is worth the time and who isn¡¯t. Clueless and Smart.


    Oil business started booming in eighteen hundred. Given their reaction we are somewhat far from that.


    Trains in eighteen oh four. Those who were in oil business before that easily turned into millionaires.


    Back In my first life i used to be a soldier to some country in the north america. I always had a thing for history. Good to see that it is serving me now, thousands of years later after I was reborn for the first time.


    The only thing that you can learn from history is that you cannot learn anything with history. Its always doomed to repeat itself one way or the other.


    Unless you travel to the past to get rich that is.


    I kept chatting up the ¡®gentle folks¡¯, and watching the opera by Maria¡¯s side. Not a worry in mind.


    ¡ª-


    Ruth¡¯ FOV


    ¡°Here is the restroom. Do you need anything else?¡± The blonde girl from before had helped me out finding the place.


    I scribbled in paper that I took from a wall with a pen that Otto had lent me. Supposedly it had been imported from a far away country to the east, one much more advanced.


    Curious thing, it stored ink instead of the usual quill and ink pot making it much more practical to carry around. He wanted it back though¡­ A very expensive item.


    *I¡¯m good. You can go, thank you for the help. I can find my way back.* It read.


    ¡°I can wait for you here¡­ I never been much a fan of opera anyway.¡± She said.


    *No need. Please go.*I answered.


    Bloody hell. Get out of here, I want to lean in dark corners and listen to mysterious conversations. Just like Adam said.


    ¡°Alright then.¡± She nodded and headed off.


    I entered the restroom. It was clean¡­ For monastery standards. Good thing that I had the premium dormitories back home from well, being the boss¡¯s daughter. There I had to clean my own toilet, but only I used it.


    I waited a bit to see if the girl was still skulking about. I¡¯m still a little tipsy from the wine, the healing spell didn¡¯t manage to get me rid of the whole hungover, but I can do this!


    I sneaked out of the restroom and went to the place I passed by on the way here.


    It read *Premium boxes* I noticed some fancy folks seating here and talking from below. I might find out something useful.


    There was a guard, but nothing a little blindness jinx couldn¡¯t help with.


    I sneaked inside.


    The first one had a old couple watching the show. The door was open so I could easily listen to the conversation.


    They were celebrating another year of their marriage it seemed. Only giggles and kisses, boring and disgusting. They are too old for that!


    I moved. I need to do this before they notice I¡¯m taking too long. The boxes weren¡¯t too far apart so¡­ it wasn¡¯t that difficult


    The next one had a middle aged man making out with a woman much younger than him. She looked and was dressed like some prostitute.


    The door was closed but I managed to pull a stool and look inside from a little window above the it.


    I recognized the man!


    It was! Those kids¡­ Elena and Tristan I think their name was. Its their father; he introduced his son to me not long ago!


    I don¡¯t think I want to tell them this.


    I moved on. Most of the boxes this way were empty but eventually I spotted another occupied one.


    It had a guard on the door. Big guy, big hat. Dressed in a really worn black suit. He had a pistol on his hip, held in a holster.


    A guard! It must be important. This is it!


    I was leaning in a corner. Looking at him when suddenly, a hand on my shoulder!


    I jumped up, it scared me!


    Looking at who it was, I calmed down. The blonde girl from before!


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± She asked with a serious expression.


    I still had the pen and paper in pocket that this new dress had concealed, I took it out and wrote.


    *How long have you been following me?*


    ¡°Since just now. You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡±


    *You saw it?*


    ¡°Saw what?¡±


    Maybe I could use her help.


    *You will find it interesting. But I need your help, I¡¯m looking for someone here, see that guard? Distract him for me, I will make it worth your while.*


    ¡°What¡­ I¡¯m not! Eeer¡­¡± She thought for a while. ¡°Alright. But, I, humm. Never distracted anyone before!¡± She looked really shy. These fancy ladies¡­ what exactly they do all day!?


    I pointed at her chest. She had some big ones there.


    Adam is a genius at this, no way his strategies can go wrong.


    ¡°What!?¡± She was flabbergasted. I almost laughed at her.


    *You can do it. It will be worth it¡­ And I will owe you one.*


    She nodded.


    ¡°You better make good on your word.¡±


    She went over to the guard.

 005 - What guy? The Guy!

    Ruth¡¯s FOV


    I was watching from afar, leaning in a corner. The girl Elena approached the guard, she started limping and fell on the ground, right in front of him.


    ¡°HAAAA¡± She screamed.


    ¡°Are you alright lassie?¡± He had a really thick accent he spoke as he bent over to help her.


    ¡°I¡­ I think I twisted my ankle, damn high heels. I will never learn its art. Ahh, it hurts.¡± She placed a hand in the man¡¯s forearm.


    He helped her get up; standing only on one foot, she tried to stand on the one she had ¡®twisted¡¯, back in the floor and made a pained expression.


    Good acting.


    ¡°Kind sir, ¡­I might need your help to get to my father. He will help, I can¡¯t walk like this alone!¡± She said with a really fake embarrassed expression.


    ¡°Lass, I¡¯m working I can¡¯t leave just like this¡­ You see the boss¡­¡±


    ¡°Not a problem, my father is very rich he will reward you and owe a favour to your boss for helping his daughter, your boss will give you a raise you will see!¡± She lied through her teeth.


    Maybe she isn¡¯t as dumb as she looks.


    ¡°Alright, if you say so¡­¡± The man helped her out as they went in another direction.


    That was¡­ actually solid. I¡¯m impressed.


    I quickly rushed over the door and leaned my hear against it. I could hear two voices. Two men.


    ¡°Any problems with the last shipments?¡± A man with a soft voice made a question.


    ¡°Everything is dandy, boss. We just have a little problem with the Black tar¡­¡± Another man with a rough voice answered, Submission clear in his voice.


    ¡°Again!? Those cultists attacked another shipment? It¡¯s the second time this month.¡± The man with the soft voice hissed.


    ¡°I did everything boss! Changed routes. Hid it in hidden compartments of the sugar boxes. Had guards! Everything I tell you. Those cultists have otherworldly powers! A man can¡¯t hope to hold against this sort of thing!¡± The rough voice was fearful.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care for excuses. My revenue is dropping at alarming rates; my clients are banging my door down! You either get the Heroin or I will find someone else who will.¡± The soft voice hissed.


    ¡°I am assembling a big team in a local abandoned slaughterhouse. We will raid that monastery, I¡¯m sure these cultists are in liege with the priests there. We will clean the place up and find the merchandise.¡± The rough voice answered with confidence.


    ¡°And now you are going to tell me why you haven¡¯t you done so already.¡± The voice said full of annoyance.


    ¡°I have a contact. Guns. Pistols, muskets even the new rifles. But we are lacking some¡­¡±


    BAAM.


    Someone punched a table. Almost scared me to death too. But this is important I need to listen.


    ¡°You wil have your money. If I don¡¯t get my shipment in two weeks. I will have your head on a pike. This conversation is over.¡±


    I heard a chair moving. Time to skedaddle.


    So I did; fast as the wind.


    An attack!? To the monastery? That¡¯s my home.


    Adam needs to know about this. Father too!


    I passed through the guard guarding an exit in the other end of the corridor from where I came from.


    He didn¡¯t say anything. It seems his job is to keep people from coming in, not out.


    I acted normal. Its time to go back to watch the opera.


    The corridors were mostly empty, the opera was still going on so most people were on their seats right now. I rushed over to get back to my spot.


    I took a seat. The other teens were either watching the show or giggling at something. I took a seat back.


    ¡°Went for a number two at home?¡± Otto asked; laughing.


    ¡°Where is my sister? She went with you and isn¡¯t back?¡± Tristan the blond from before and the girl¡¯s brother asked.


    I shrugged.


    ¡ª-


    Adam¡¯s FOV


    I cracked my shoulders as the opera was closing its final act.


    My ears are buzzing from all the noise, either the gums of inbred pillocks or this opera. I thought an old times opera would be good! But they have so much to still improve on¡­ Or maybe it is just this backwater town that doesn¡¯t have much culture.


    I took my wife by the arm and walked away. We both saying our farewells, my pockets full of business cards.


    We stood by the exit waiting for Ruth. Maria hadn¡¯t said anything yet.


    Weird.


    ¡°You can let go of me now. We are done.¡± I said.


    She released my arm.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I noticed she had a new mood.


    She looked up. ¡°I just¡­ noticed, there is so much more to life than dank basements and spell books. You were right, this was fun. I never so many people, they sort of weird but maybe they are just different. Even if it was just a lie¡­ It¡­it felt good to be appreciated. You know?¡±


    I patted her head, she was just a kid after all. No amount of dark spells and mutilation methods will change them; life does.


    A thing that Nev never really came close to understand after centuries. Immortality has effects on people. Many of them.


    Turns out that some people can live up to centuries and still be children; quaint notion that.


    ¡°But you are appreciated. ¡± I answered.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ by whom? You? No¡­ not even you.¡± She sighted.


    ¡°You know. Since I woke for the first¡­ up this morning the first person I saw was you. And yet the day is coming to a close and here you are. By my side. Ruth might be a sneaky little weasel but I¡¯m sure she loves you too. So¡­ don¡¯t beat yourself up, its not numbers that count. Its quality. And I would say that I had a great day.¡± I looked at her. She was starting at me with those big gazel puppy eyes.


    ¡°And¡­ even thought you resisted, you did great today by my side. I appreciate it.¡± I smiled.


    I could see a tear in the corner of her eye.


    ¡°Idiot! Making me emotional¡­ I guess¡­ you are right. Thank you.¡± She also smiled.


    Not to ruin this beautiful moment, but if she was my daughter there would be quite a hearing from me, if any of them said this.


    To depend on others? Seek their approval? Pathetic. Unbefitting of my depraved inheritance.


    However I do have uses for this girl. Better to just make her depend of me. And when she outlives her usefulness, cast her away. By then she will learn her lesson; and become stronger for it.


    I am the overlord. I didn¡¯t reach the top among the most ancient and powerful beings in all of existence by being compassionate, caring. I do what must be done, and the road for divinity is paved in blood.


    Either by ancestors or by those who conquered.


    If she can keep up? Good for her. I will grant her all the power and glory she deserves. And if she can¡¯t? Well, she can go and join the corpses of my enemies. The ones I used to pave my stairs back to the heavens.


    One thing is certain. I won¡¯t hold anyone¡¯s hand, that reservation is for my daughters only, and I always make sure they do pay for it. This girl wouldn¡¯t afford it, she would be better off dead.


    It took a few minutes but Ruth eventually came out of the opera with her gang. Rich kids these, hope she made a few friends they might be useful.


    She was holding hands with a blonde girl. The girl had tears in her eyes and the blonde man seemed a little down too. Wonder what happened.


    ¡°Hey Abella. How was the opera?¡± I said. The underling meaning clear, I was expecting her to perform well in our task. She is smart after all.


    She nodded.


    Good girl.


    They said their farewells, and I noticed that the sun was going down. Time to head home, starting to get hungry and all that.


    Monastery food here I come.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    We walked a while and had no trouble getting out of the town. There was still a little climb due to the monastery being up in a hill, this body certainly needed the workout.


    I checked for tails. There were none.


    Once we reached the walls of the place, we had no trouble going back in. The priest in guard duty quickly recognized who we were, even if our clothes were not in accordance to the proper dress code. A glare from Maria quickly made him rethink his words.


    She really was held in a high standard in this community. The apparent heir.


    The place was built in a square.


    It wasn¡¯t that big. One side was a building with dormitories, separating male and female. The centre building had a big room that was the prayer halls full of religious carvings, statue and fancy religious stuff, like chandeliers, gold goblets and such.


    And another side was the hostelry where we ate and guests stayed. I have a feeling that there weren¡¯t that many guests nowadays. It also had an infirmary.


    The entry side was a big wall, supplied with old crossbows and rusty swords. There were fighting marks on it, indicating the place had seen action before.


    It had a big iron gate, the one we just passed through.


    The centre was a big garden, made up of dead flora which the priests didn¡¯t seem to care about.


    Finally at this garden¡¯s centre the belfry that I had climbed up earlier.


    Maria had mentioned a basement. Where ¡®father¡¯s¡¯ accommodation was. And where we worked, either cult stuff or general priest duties.


    Like translations and alchemy. It must be a big place underground.


    I spotted a big church back in town. It seems the city folk pray there instead of coming here. It seemed a little different too.


    However there is a big cemetery in the side of the hill here; where the monastery stood. Provably serving the whole town.


    We reached the cantina and the three of us took a seat on a table. There were many priests and kids; perhaps apprentices? At this hour the place is quite crowded, but I can tell that this is not all of the order¡¯s members, they are too weak.


    The stronger ones must have somewhere else to dwell¡­


    The acolytes/apprentices used a grey robe and novices an white one. Ruth had a grey robe and Maria a black one¡­ I do also have a grey one, wish I threw away back in town, the girls did too. They didn¡¯t take their old clothes with them. Do they represent a power ranking of sorts?


    It also seems this monastery¡¯s rules and the monastic horarium aren¡¯t as strict as most of them.


    There is also the fact that men and woman are equal in the clergy, even allowing them their own dormitories and such. Traditional christian church isn¡¯t like this; another thing that the presence of magic somehow changed.


    I wonder how they handle the implications that having men and woman living together causes.


    We waited a while as Maria went to fetch our meal. Considering I was amnesiac and Ruth well Ruth. She didn¡¯t give us an earful.


    Ruth was scribbling a paper for a while. And as soon as Maria came with our supper. She handed it to me.


    *Mission report. IMPORTANT* I read the first line.


    ¡°I see you did well. I will read it later.¡± I smiled as I pocketed it.


    She nodded.


    ¡°We could communicate like this more often. Get a journal and a pen or something.¡±


    She pulled out a silver pen that she had in her pocket. A pricey one it seems.


    ¡°Well done.¡± I said as I poured a ladle of soup into my mouth.


    It wasn¡¯t bad¡­ Just bland.


    ¡°Hey Maria¡­ I was wondering, what does the monastery do when girls get pregnant here?¡± I suddenly asked half-way through being done with the meal breaking the silence.


    ¡°That¡¯s a sudden, and a weird question. Well¡­ Some monasteries immediately execute both parents for breaking dictate. Other ones like ours, who well¡­ don¡¯t usually take in orphans or outsiders have them raised here.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I nodded.


    Rough world.


    ¡°These rules are set by the high priest. He has total authority in our church. Managing his own monastery whatever way he deems fit, sometimes the pope from the main branch does send in inquisitors to¡­ well see that everything is in order.¡± She said.


    ¡°That might be a problem.¡± I commented.


    ¡°Father has everything in control. They come and go and no problems ever arise, he is quite resourceful you see. ¡± She made a spin with her knife as she said it.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I just nodded. He is indeed quite the character.


    I noticed a group of three older priests in grey robes approaching our table. The leader an ugly men with a scar on his mouth.


    He slammed both his hands in the side of the table. Our table.


    ¡°Who do you think you are! Disrespecting the rules of our community. First you break dictate by going to town; after the high priest clearly stated that no interaction whatsoever with the outside world would be tolerated!¡± He shouted.


    I looked at him.


    ¡°And then you have the dare to walk back in, breaking dress code; like nothing had happened¡­! You three should be executed for desertion!¡± He continued, clearly in anger.


    ¡°Just because you are the high priest¡¯s off-springs doesn¡¯t make you impervious to our rules.¡± A short haired woman standing behind him added.


    ¡°How dare you¡­¡± Maria said indignant. But I cut her off.


    ¡°Did he sent you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. But that doesn¡¯t mean that me, an older and wiser member of our order doesn¡¯t have the authority to put you mutts in your place.¡± The scarred one answered.


    ¡°What right do you have to break our rules and after coerce your fellow brothers and sisters to do your bidding? Heh!¡± He said as he reached for Maria.


    ¡°Just because you weaselled your way into the rankings and got the title of ¡®Master¡¯ doesn¡¯t make you one!¡± He hissed at Maria. Who was clearly too young to be a ¡®Master¡¯.


    I grabbed his wrist midway and smirked. Maria was surprised at my actions; but just nodded.


    ¡°Right?¡± I laughed aloud. Everyone in the place were staring at us now; the commotion. Some members even looked through the windows.


    ¡°This right!¡±


    I pulled his hand with all my might making him fall face on the table. Before anyone could react, my eating knife severed his spinal cord.


    Then he just bled like a stuck pig.


    I picked up another knife on the table and got up, pulling him off it leaving a trail of blood, dragged him up on his knees by the table¡¯s side, then casually i lifted his head up by the hair and slitted his throat open; for everyone to see.


    He fell on the ground motionless in a pool of his own blood and piss.


    ¡°Adam!¡± Maria shouted.


    Ruth was looking at the scene. No clear expression on her face.


    The priests who were with him took a step back, the short haired girl along with a bald man with his skull full of engravings.


    He was the one standing guard earlier. I took note of their faces.


    ¡°For anyone who thinks it would be funny to stand in our way.¡± I motioned at the man on the floor and placed my shoe in the hilt of the knife stuck on him. Twisting it.


    He wanted to scream as he died. He could not; I only allowed him to whimper.


    I stood hands behind my back and stomped my foot crushing his throat.


    ¡°I will have them severed limb from limb, and their soul incinerated; you won¡¯t come back even as a flea ridden rat.¡±


    Suddenly i moved, grabbing the bald man who was frozen in fear by the throat and punched him; breaking his nose on the spot.


    ¡°We, the high priest¡¯s descendants are superior. Our authority unquestionable. Defy it and you will have my wrath, not even ¡®my¡¯ father will save any of you from me.¡± I shouted, my voice full of anger.


    I looked at the short haired girl.


    ¡°Get this shit cleaned up. I won¡¯t have it stinking my cantina.¡± I commanded.


    She nodded and went somewhere to get a broom or something.


    I took a seat.


    ¡ª-


    ¡°Surging all this emotions is making me tired. Dear sisters show me to my room.¡± I said to both of them who had their mouth wide open.


    We walked, everyone just made way for us.


    That¡¯s how you make an impression.


    Soon we reached the dormitories. We entered the men¡¯s side, and Maria and Ruth showed me my room. This body¡¯s room.


    I was¡­ Well. Unimpressed.


    The place was a mess. Trash laying on the floor, dirty socks. Eugh.


    The bed was just a yellow mattress filled with holes and the window was shattered.


    Maria squeezed her nose and Ruth pouted.


    ¡°I seem to have a problem.¡± I commented as I looked at the place. The walls were black of mould.


    ¡°I think you have many problems.¡± Maria replied with a smirk.


    I looked around. Not a single book to be seen. I opened the wardrobe, a rotten and broken thing. The stench was even worse here.


    I saw¡­ A big collection, of well drawings. Lewd ones, some weird hobby mayhaps?


    Maria looked away not saying a word and Ruth just smirked.


    I also spotted a few dark robes. They seemed relatively clean, I took them.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sleeping here. Honestly I have a really strong urge to burn this shithole to the ground.¡± I said as I walked out of the room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, mine is also a mess. I mean not the the disgusting kind, just my notes and books. Sort of... All over the place.¡± Maria said.


    I banged the door shut. To never set foot in there again.


    ¡°Really? You¡­ The princess is disorganized?¡± I grinned at her.


    ¡°Like you are one to talk¡­ And, boys are forgiven in the girls dormitory. After¡­ well an incident a few years back.¡±


    ¡°You are standing in the boy¡¯s dormitory right now.¡±


    ¡°Girls are allowed here.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°You know¡­ I don¡¯t give a fuck about rules. You should know that by now; so lead the way.¡± I said.


    ¡°Alright then. But you are not sleeping in my room, its not proper and I have studies to attend to.¡± She answered reluctantly.


    We walked to the other side of the building. Some women and girls gave me looks, but after my most recent show they wouldn¡¯t dare say a word.


    Maria unlocked and pushed the door open into her room.


    Honestly I didn¡¯t know what to expect. But it really was a mess. Books and papers all over the place, the room was a tiny claustrophobic thing. And piles upon piles of books well. It was a mess.


    ¡°What on hell do you need that many books for!?¡± I asked.


    Ruth took a paper and scribbled as Maria didn¡¯t say a word and took a set in a sort of throne made of¡­ well mess and books. Id didn¡¯t smell nearly as bad as this body¡¯s room. Just dust.


    I looked at it.


    *She is dumb, so she studies a lot. Not that will save her from it.* She also drew a¡­ emoji. A face with the tongue out and a winking eye.


    I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    I took a seat in a stool and opened one of the books.


    ¡°Hey that¡¯s my stuff! It¡¯s a mess. But an organized mess, I know were everything is.¡± She complained.


    ¡°Proper ways to interact with otherworldly beings. What is this¡­!?¡± I said as I read the book¡¯s title aloud.


    ¡°You know, when we make a pact so the being we make a contact with¡­ well accepts our terms and doesn¡¯t hex us or something. We need these pacts so we have an anchor¡­ you know to be able to cast spells. The resource. You have that, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be able to cast the spells you do.¡± She explained.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it works¡­¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She answered.


    Now I realize it. These people don¡¯t have their own magic! This world¡¯s magic density is so weak that I could hardly feely it. At first I thought it was this body being detuned with¡­ well pretty much everything. But it is really that weak, just good enough to make pacts. Warlock pacts, and yes they do suck. You are pretty much a slave depending on its terms.


    I wasn¡¯t using these fellow¡¯s previous pacts to fuel my spells. He died, so the pact ended. No I was using my own soul. The one that is in the process of healing after I died and travelled who knows how far for how long.


    The one that holds my essence, who I am.


    Good thing I didn¡¯t abuse this magic. Yes my soul is powerful, but draining it even a little too much may cause some serious trouble for me later on. It happened before.


    I don¡¯t want to even start remembering about that headache.


    ¡°I know a guy.¡± I said aloud.


    ¡°What guy?¡± She raised an eyebrow


    ¡°A guy we three can make a pact with. No trouble, all power for us.¡±


    Ruth laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s preposterous. Most otherworldly beings wouldn¡¯t bother to answer stray calls from what they deem insects, like us. Much less making a pact for nothing.¡± Maria answered, expressionless.


    Its true. There is absolutely no benefit to making a pact with anything that this world possesses. No magic, no worth. But some creatures do, either for amusement or because there are that desperate for souls.


    No way that someone from this world would have the power or means to harvest souls. I wonder why do they make them.


    ¡°The one we have a pact with, well he is bond in our family. Our ancestors tamed it and enslaved it to a certain degree. He is quite powerful, Father gave us these powers just because we are his descendants. There is no greater gift than this and that¡¯s why we must make up for him¡± She explained.


    Ruth nodded.


    So that¡¯s why they pretty much worship that old man.


    ¡°You should be most grateful for it. The other priests either have a pact with the cult¡¯s scamps, making them pathetic, or with some creature that tortures them day and night. In our lives there is nothing more valuable than our pact. That¡¯s something that every lineage sorcerer agrees on.¡±


    ¡°Like I said; I know a guy, I just need some chalk. I will call him up, whatever this scamp you have a deal with, my guy is a god compared to him.¡± I said.


    What? I actually do know of lots of guys I could reach out to. But this one, ¡­ there was never someone as loyal. It almost brings a tear to my eye.


    ¡°You are delusional.¡± She shook her head.


    Ruth placed a hand on my shoulder consoling me.


    ¡°Some chalk please and a place away from prying eyes.¡± I crossed my arms firm about my decision.


    ¡ª-


    Ruth¡¯s room.


    She actually had an organized room. A wardrobe with a set of neatly arranged robes and books, and a desk. A small bed too.


    I was holding a piece of chalk between my fingers after I changed out of the bloody robe, into a fresher one.


    The girls were staring at me, eyes full of disregard and some sympathy.


    ¡°Our brother went bollocks.¡± Maria said to Ruth.


    Ruth nodded.


    I started to draw a circle with the chalk.


    Time to make a home call.

 006 - Acquaintances from hell

    Ritual circles. These come in all shapes and sizes, for all kind of purposes. This one I just finished was a contact one; its purpose to send information back and through whoever you contact. It also can serve as a conduct to send and retrieve magic and anything magically related; for a price of course.


    Contracts like the one I intend to make. With this, the contacted is free to send all the power he wishes to us. As for items, well there are strict policies but nothing that hasn¡¯t been exploited over and over.


    Smuggling this way was not so easy. But it was quite profitable for those who could do it.


    Its basically circles inside circles. Runes are carved on the sides and inside, these circles are meant to set where and what you which to contact. And the runes decide the rest, for example who specifically are you contacting, and guide the circles to work properly. They are basically smaller spells with various purposes.


    Its like a mathematics diagram; a single mistake would make the whole thing fail.


    I finished it in twenty minutes. The girls just stood there watching.


    ¡°I have no idea what any of this is.¡± Maria said and looked at Ruth.


    She shook her head, and pointed at one of the runes in the circle.


    ¡°That is one of the sending glyphs, that one makes whoever we contact able ear what we say.¡± I explained.


    She pointed at another.


    ¡°That one takes care of the image. So he can see us and we can see him.¡±


    Maria seemed impressed. ¡°I had no idea, all the rituals I have performed so far¡­ I just copied a drawing from a book and threw magic at it.¡± She confessed.


    Ruth nodded.


    ¡°I guess the arts of ritual magic was lost in time.¡± I replied.


    ¡°How do you know all of this, are you pranking us? When we use this circle and it fails are you just going to laugh at us for believing you¡­ or something?¡± The girl asked with a complicated expression.


    I took a knife and made a cut in my hand, pouring blood at the centre of the ritual. It¡¯s purpose simple, make sure the entity is interested on the call. Blood is essence, and possessing the essence of another is a big leverage for a demon or whatever being that can manipulate it. It draws attention.


    ¡°It¡¯s secret and no. Go on¡­ both of you, activate it.¡± I took a seat in a chair facing the circle.


    They nodded and used their means.


    It took a while, because well... this world is really a backwater. But it worked.


    ¡°So fast!¡± Maria said in surprise.


    ¡°Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.¡± I muttered a quick prayer for a finish.


    The whole circle glowed a deep red. The blood in the centre quickly expanded into a pool, And curved onyx horns rose slowly.


    We couldn¡¯t see his surroundings only his face and body. The image was somewhat clear.


    ¡°What on the grieving pits do you want? and how do you have my private contact!?¡± The being demanded with a frown, his whole demeanour was arrogance; arms crossed while staring at us full of spite.


    He spoke in hell¡¯s language, the girls clearly could not understand him. For those who did not have infernal inheritage or studied it; it sounded like hateful gibberish and drained the soul of those who heard it. I did set up a protection against that so they wouldn¡¯t get hurt.


    Ruth and Maria gasped.


    ¡°Adam! This is not¡­! This what on earth is this being¡­!¡± She backed away against the wall. Pulling Ruth with her.


    He took a look at them. And spoke in our tongue.


    ¡°YOU¡­ DARE SUMMON ME, and not know who I am!!! The impudence!¡± He shouted. Towards them.


    ¡°No, master...! We only activated the circle, he summoned you!¡± Maria pointed towards me, clearly terrified.


    His gaze came towards m. As I sat in a chair smirking at him and bandaging my cut; a cold shiver ran through my spine, he was going to kill me.


    I looked towards him, an old pal.


    A pure bred-demon, and a archdevil. A tall and a slender creature resembling a man, his skin red; with long black claws and a scaly tail ending in a blade. He was wearing a brown tuxedo. His most noticeable features were his long curved horns, resembling a goat. A proof of his lineage. Most creatures from the hells would quake in fear at the sight of one such as him.


    After all, this one was of a royal lineage. And quite a wicked one too.


    ¡°Hello Seth.¡± I casually greeted him, In the infernal language of course I would rather not have eavesdropping on our conversation.


    ¡°Who are you to address me so casually? Speak quickly, this connection¡­ is rubbish.¡± He quickly demanded.


    ¡°I offered you my blood. Can¡¯t you tell what¡¯s special about it?¡± I smirked.


    ¡°It¡¯s rotten. Like¡­ some undead thrall, and¡­ this is¡­ Master¡¯s life force! Who the hells are you? ¡± He demanded.


    What is he on about?


    ¡°Long time no see, old buddy.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°You are¡­ This is Impossible, You were murdered! They even made sure you would not come back to the manor. Where exactly are you? I thought you were gone; never to be found again...¡± He answered; intrigued, his demeanour more relaxed.


    ¡°You know what¡­ I have no fucking idea, I ended up in a shitty world were the attunement is nearly non existent. I require your aid.¡± I answered.


    ¡°Master¡­ You have fallen from glory. Your manor here was destroyed, your armies crumbled and deserted! I took whatever I could save from the attackers, and those who are still¡­ loyal to you, and we are hiding. Their forces are hunting us. ¡±


    ¡°My daughter. Tell me about her, what has she been up too?¡± I asked,


    ¡°Daughter?. I heard nothing from a daughter of yours, only those who were soul bound to you are still loyal, of course when the one who took your place noticed that we were not dead when you¡­ well went somewhere. She started hunting us with that sword of hers.¡±


    Keeping a low profile¡­ With my sword.


    I had many servants soul bond to me. My death was their death, my will their duty. Just like Seth here. He used to be my butler back in hell.


    She is doing well with that whole take my stuff thing of hers. Good for her, for now.


    ¡°I see, first things first make sure you are safe. I have no doubt that¡¯s inside your capabilities. Now you mentioned that you took whatever you could from my safes. Tell me you managed to save it all.¡±


    ¡°Of course master. The dimensional pocket you granted me is full, everything is mine to safeguard until you have the need of it, just like you instructed me in case of crisis.¡±


    I had many useful stuff stored back in hell. Good to see that Seth took his duty seriously.


    I started writing on a paper and once I finished it; I sent it over to the ritual circle. The paper materialized in Seth¡¯s claws.  He cast a spell on it so it wouldn¡¯t burn and examined it.


    ¡°Make whatever preparations you need to send me over that pocket with everything in that list included. I will be contacting you once I¡¯m ready to receive it.¡± I ordered.


    ¡°Of course master.¡± He bowed.


    Maria and Ruth weren¡¯t understanding anything while they shivered in a corner. But once they saw the creature make a polite bow, they gasped.


    I used a spell to materialize Seth¡¯s contract. The one that made him pretty much my slave.


    ¡°Listen Seth. I know you serve with your whole hearth, but I don¡¯t want you to see this as mere duty. Once I¡¯m back in my throne; in my own world, I will burn this thing.  You will be free, and I shall grant you whatever you desire. You have my word¡­ so don¡¯t fail me.¡±


    I needed him to be all in with this. Not just bond by duty. This servant of many was the most powerful and most competent one that I had currently. He is going to serve as my trump card to get out of this world and go back home.


    ¡°Master¡­ You are too kind. For this one to have his freedom back, it would be a dream realized. I shall arrange this shipment and have it ready, let me make first contact. Is there anything else?¡± He said as he looked at me while bowing.


    ¡°Good, don¡¯t make me wait; time can be fickle from here to there. A few more things, find all the other soul bonds of mine and gather an army with you as the leader; the bigger the better, we are going to need it in the future.¡± I said.


    He nodded and bowed again.


    ¡°One more thing. See those two girls? They serve me, i decided to reward them; Make a warlock pact with them, free of bindings. I shall require one too. As you might noticed the attunement here is trash. We require pacts to use the arcane arts, here¡­ it¡¯s the only way I figured out so far. I would rather have my servants having power of something above some imp.¡± I said.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°And of course; for me. I¡¯m literally exhausting my own soul to be here talking with you, so I shall require one too.¡± I instructed him.


    Sure I could just use my soul, its powerful enough to fuel anything I need. But I won¡¯t be able to heal it in this world and it would cause problems later on; as for Seth he lives in Hell that dimension is almost literally made of magic. He can just send some our way, no problem.


    ¡°As you will master. As rare of pacts free of bond are, I shall respect my end of the bargain.¡± He sent over three contracts. I could see a twitch in his brow, its not in a demon¡¯s nature to make a deal where he is the only one giving. I commanded it; so he would have no other choice.


    While I possessed his soul, he couldn¡¯t even think of raising a finger against me.


    The contracts were all equal. We just needed to sign it. I signed mine and keep it. He signed another, to finish the deal between us.


    I motioned the girls to come over, and they did.


    ¡°Go on.¡± I showed them the contract and translated it to them.


    It was just formalities, there were absolutely no restrictions or anything that they needed to do for the devil. I could do it; make them my slaves¡­ but where is the fun in that.


    They signed it.


    ¡°What is this¡­ You have a pact with a fucking imp!? And these conditions ¡­ Outrageous.¡± Seth smirked as he saw the pact the girls had, speaking in the language that they understood.


    Pathetic. ¡°An imp!? Really? Is this the powerful devil that ¡®our¡¯ family had a pact with!? ¡± I mocked them.


    I couldn¡¯t hold it. I started laughing aloud; Seth did too.


    ¡°Wha¡­what?¡± Maria asked befuddled.


    Ruth just looked down embarrassed.


    ¡°We are done. I shall wait for you to contact me.¡± I turned around and experimented with a spell.


    Now I could cast pretty much anything as long as it was basic; I wouldn¡¯t run out of magic, Seth would send the juice. I just had to sleep for a few hours.


    I took a seat and looked back at my wound. The blood really was strange, and it didn¡¯t hurt. It wasn¡¯t bleeding either, i need to check this later.


    For now I needed a nap. I would be using my newfound source of power to finally start healing my soul. That meant I could not really abuse magic while in this world. At this rate my soul would take almost a century to heal. That was a little problem.


    Ruth and Maria talked with Seth for a while. He was clearly annoyed with all the questions but he would not show it, out of respect for me.


    I laid in Ruth¡¯s bed and closed my eyes.


    ¡ª-


    Someone poked my cheek.


    Ruth.


    I opened my eyes.


    The white hair and the coal black eyes. She was not like the last time I saw her¡­ She is little, again. A dream.


    She had that¡­ innocent and mischievous smile that I always loved.


    ¡°Wake up daddy! I can see the cathedral from here! She said¡± Her high pitched voice full of awe.


    ¡°Nev¡­ What?¡± I asked as I looked around, the golden fields of sunflowers reflected the warm sun¡¯s light all around us as we rode the carriage along the road. The soft wind, flowing in our hair.


    Eralenir¡­ The realm of the gods; ¡®Heaven¡¯.


    We were going down a hill, a huge cathedral built of gold and sapphires stood ahead of us.


    ¡°My love , are you unwell?¡± A beautiful woman at my side asked with a warm smile.


    She had that same long white silver hair and a face practically carved by a master sculptor; kind sky blue eyes. Her belly was round; she was with child.


    My child. She was also holding my hand¡­


    ¡°Qhavelia. My love, I just had the grimmest of dreams.¡± I answered to my love as I breathed in and calmed myself. Taking in the surroundings.


    ¡°Our dreams are often messages, sometimes from the past sometimes¡­ the future. What did they reveal to you, sweetheart?¡± She had her usual warm smile, her gaze kind and caring.


    Always she had been like that. Compassionate, soft-hearted. In no means weak. Always a smile in her face, even when we went through some dark moments of our lives she had her smile. She couldn¡¯t pass by anyone without listening; offering her help.


    I loved her for that.


    ¡°I was in a dark place¡­¡± I said as I gently brushed Nevauri¡¯s hair with the back of my hand. ¡°Everyone was¡­ lonely and hopeless; And¡­ me; my heart so full of hatred, my hands stained in red not matter how much I tried to wash them.¡± I looked down at my other hand ¡°I almost couldn¡¯t breath; It was suffocating, I reached up for air trying to fill my lungs but all that entered them was blood, by the end I was drowned. I saw myself drowned. ¡± I answered.


    Nevauri hugged me interrupting me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry daddy, its alright.¡± The little one brushed my hair back with her hand.


    Qhavelia hugged me too, she was at my side holding the reigns of the same carriage with her left hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m here. I will always be here for you¡­ If that darkness is the past, its over now. There is only light for now on, as long as we are together I won¡¯t let any harm come your way. Look at our daughter¡­ we will have another soon, maybe a boy this time. You will se both of them grow up.¡± She smiled as she rested her head on my shoulder, she still held my hand¡­


    ¡°I fear for the future¡­ Your father, he never did approve of me, saying that the darkness in my heart will never cease. That the blood in my hands deserves no forgiveness. Sometimes¡­ I feel like I am some monster. He is the creator after all¡­ the highest god. If he can¡¯t forgive me; then what can?¡± I said as I rested my head on hers.


    She smiled faintly.


    ¡°It¡¯s not his place to forgive, It¡¯s¡­¡± She was cut off.


    ¡­.Suddenly. I came to my senses and i was running.


    Holding Nevauri in my arm against my shoulder as she cried; I charged forward, on my other hand was a bloodied blade.


    Knights in holy armours charged at me for no effect as I danced between them; my blade cutting them down one after the other. The single hand was all it took; the wrath in my heart offered them no quarter.


    I rushed down that corridor; opened those huge double doors out of the way with a mighty kick.


    There, a big room with open spaces serving as windows stood; a mighty storm was brewing outside.


    Nevauri looked and also saw her.


    Standing in the bed was Qhavelia¡­ all bloody ¡ªwhat was meant to be a child was only an amalgamation of worms and putrid black matter.


    I rushed to her side, grasping for her hand.


    ¡°Zoldassim¡­¡± She muttered while i took her bloodied hand. The maids around her were all dead, as they inhaled the putrid bog. They were only mortals; unlike us who have ascended.


    ¡°My love¡­ It¡¯s alright, we are going to leave! Go back home, our little cottage by the river. Your beautiful garden¡­ The poppies must be all grown by now, we will sing together again. Come let¡¯s see them. Lets go back.¡± I took hold of her¡­ I knew she was going to pass; i just couldn¡¯t bear the thought of it.


    ¡°N¡­No. I can¡¯t, look¡­ father is here. He will make the pain go away¡­¡± She looked into my eyes, her bloodshot blue eyes devoid of any light, deep circles below them. She¡­ she wasn¡¯t smiling.


    ¡°Please¡­ Take care of  our daughter¡­¡± Her last words came out.


    Her hand went limp. She had died.


    ¡°MOMMY!¡± Nevauri screamed between tears.


    I turned away; shielding Nev¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°We have¡­ ¡ªTo go.¡± I said.


    *BOOM*


    Through the wind a sudden presence emerged.


    He was an enormous old man. With a rugged stoic face and a wooden crow, A gold Sceptre in his huge hand.


    ¡°This is thy doing.  Hast thou pride  ''i  thy actions!?  hast had thou enough of making mine daughter endure agony? now look upon''r.  Look upon''r!¡± His voice carried the weight of the heavens themselves and pure fury; an aura that I barely could endure¡­


    ¡°Have thou had enough?¡± He seized my shoulder almost crushing it, he looked upon Qhavelia and then noticed Nevauri.


    ¡°Grant her to me! Fiend.¡±


    More knights rushed into the room. Surrounding us.


    ¡°NEVER!!¡± I screamed at the top of my lungs. At this old nemesis of mine.


    In panic, I slashed my sword at the man¡¯s neck, only making it stuck. His gaze darkened with a even heavier frown.


    In terror I left my sword there, and rushed towards the windows, jumping out.


    Then I fell into the darkness along with the rays of light that the storm brought down.


    Along with little Nevauri in my arms.


    ¡ª-


    I awakened and stood up, struggling for air.


    Light went through the window, lighting up the room. I saw the ritual circle and a girl sleeping soundly by my side.


    After all these years, this cursed dream still would haunt me. That was when it all started. My legacy as the Overlord. After harrowing years in a cruel world I found myself somewhere akin to the notion of heaven¡­ somehow.


    There I found my true love, and happiness. Also found the biggest hole that a hearth could become.


    But I had Nevauri, I had to take care of her. That kept me going¡­ even thought I became something else. I never left her side, never lost her. Not again.


    And after thousands of years, here I am.


    Somewhere.


    I hope her betrayal made her happy. Once I go back home, I will forgive. She is my everything after all. But¡­ I need to do something; she needs to be¡­ punished. And that will pain me more than anything that I could think about.


    Looking down I saw Ruth who had somehow crawled into bed and slept by my side. She somewhat reminded me of that daughter of mine. But I can¡¯t allow myself to be soft. Not now.


    I pinched her nose, and stretched my arms up. Waking her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I need¡­ a drink.¡± I got out of the bed.


    Ruth touched my shoulder and pointed at the a bedside table.


    I saw the piece of folded paper that she had gave me. And opened it;  I almost had forgotten about it.


    I read it. And wow; she had some talent for that spy stuff.


    *Mission report. IMPORTANT* It read.


    *I overheard some local mafia boss, chatting with a thug. Someone from the cult stole a carriage full of black tar. They found out who it was and are launching an attack to the monastery; this week! maybe the next. They have high end guns and a big squad in some abandoned warehouse from what I gathered; we need to do something!*


    ¡°Hmm, I guess we will see some action. We need to find who this addict is, and question him. I will talk with father; to¡­ see what he says.¡± I said as I nodded in acknowledgement.


    ¡°It¡¯s best if we strike first. Wipe them out. I will see what I can do with this information.¡±


    She pointed at the back of the paper.


    *I also heard the other kids talking. Last week some sailor or something conquered something called an Australia. And some other painter died.*


    James Cook and Australia. That happened in the late eighteen century if my memory serves me right. Hell, I don¡¯t know how I remember things from thousands of years from before. Guess my first life really left the deepest impression on me.


    Good to have my time more or less situated. I wasn¡¯t too off with the oil thing.


    ¡°Good job.¡± I said as I patted her head.


    We walked together out of the room and the of the building, Maria had seen us and caught up to us. She demanded that we followed her and we went to a lone spot in the back of the building.


    Ruth went alone to the cafeteria to break her fast, clearly not interested in Maria¡¯s games.


    ¡°I need answers.¡± She demanded with a frown.


    ¡°And I have them, today is going to be a long day. So, go on get them out of your system.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Who are you? That night¡­ That devil¡­ He bowed to you and followed your instructions. I am no fool; at first I thought Adam had a¡­ glow up. Something boys do¡­ But that I can¡¯t believe after what I presented. Who are you, what do you want from us?¡± Maria had an edge on her voice has she demanded her answers.


    I honestly have no interest in keeping my identity a secret. These mortals don¡¯t know me, and if I told everyone that a demon had possessed this boy¡¯s body and decided to live his life. Who would honestly believe it? There is almost no magic in this world. Maybe religious people? These are ¡®evil¡¯ cultists, more facts less fiction.


    ¡°Zoldassim is my name. I also had many titles¡­ ¡®Death¡¯s Consort¡¯, ¡®Ebonblade¡¯, ¡®The sombre monarch¡¯, ¡®The crimson tyrant¡¯; many more¡ª Too many to bother to remember. Most fools know me as ¡®The Overlord.¡¯¡± I answered her question with honesty and a smile.


    ¡°So you really are¡­ Listen, I don¡¯t care about Adam, he was a piece of shit. I care about your intentions¡­ Your kind rarely has any benevolence in them. Why are you here? What do you want from us? ¡­Zoldassim.¡± She answered, she had defiance in her voice, but she was clearly weary.


    ¡°Listen¡­ Maria, what is that you want? I mean in your life, right now what is your goal. What¡¯s the everything that you have always strived for?¡± I asked.


    She frowned and turned around, thinking a answer.


    ¡°I want to prove to father that I am not worthless¡­ I need power, I want knowledge. To never again have someone¡­ something I care about be taken away from me. I want to protect.¡± She answered only turning back around to face me at the end of her answer, resolutely.


    ¡°I see¡­ You are just like me then.¡± I looked up and sighted. ¡°I have granted you already enough potential to become something far greater than anything that ever walked this world. But you are nothing but a flicker in face of the whole of existence¡ª You are nothing. Your mortality shackles you; you will die long before you can even scratch the surface of the potential the universe can offer you.¡±


    I looked into her eyes when she looked back.


    ¡°My piece is obvious. Come with me, be my shadow and help me achieve my goals. I will make sure you potential does not stagnate, you shall have everything you think you ever wanted¡­ and much more.¡±


    I extended my hand. Offering the deal.


    ¡°I¡­ I need to think about this. Ruth¡­ She will be shaken once she knows that Adam is dead.¡± she muttered as she looked away from my hand. Smart girl, don¡¯t play games with devils. They tend to win.


    ¡°It come without saying that my identity is to be kept secret.¡± I narrowed my eyes as I placed my arm behind my back once again.


    Honestly, i don¡¯t care about it. There is really very little consequence; but it would make thing less fun. And I do hate less fun.


    And of course if it does come to light, I will immediately know who is not worth of a speck of my trust.


    ¡°O¡­ Of course, I won¡¯t tell her. I won¡¯t tell a soul! But¡­ she is really quite smart, she is going to figure it out.¡± She rambled.


    ¡°Maybe she will, now come i have much to do today. ¡± I walked out of the corner and Maria followed close behind.

 007 - To fight or to fight?

    Soon we entered the cantina to break our fast; Ruth was already nearly done.


    We took our servings and took a seat in a table were she was sitting all alone.


    ¡°Hi.¡± I Said as I sat, and looked at my breakfast.


    Warm goat milk with some kind of cereals, and a loaf of bread. Good enough, Maria took a seat too and started her breakfast in silence.


    Ruth nodded as we sat.


    She made a motion with her hands, it looked like she was writing in a paper and then she made a cut at her throat with her finger.


    ¡°I will handle that later, let¡¯s take this day off. You two got tend to your duties, i have a few things I want to check out today.¡± I said as I finished to break my fast and started to get up.


    ¡°Wait¡­ My duty is to keep an eye on you, father¡¯s orders. So¡­¡± Maria said as I got up.


    ¡°No need. Take the day off, like I said I have things to do and I would rather be alone.¡± I walked away as I said it.


    Walking out of the cantina, I gathered my thoughts as I sat in a bench nearby.


    There is definitely something wrong with this body. The wound in my hand isn¡¯t healing naturally and even healing spells are failing. Seth had said that my blood was rotting¡­ I remember Maria saying that she had cast a necromancy spell on Adam. Low level too.


    Food didn¡¯t have any effect on me, only making me seemingly heavier for now. So far since I woke up I didn¡¯t have the need to defecate either.


    Its rather obvious at this point. I clearly reincarnated on a dead body; mutating into a zombie as times passes. This is highly problematic, the advantages of this condition are few, and the disadvantages are a pain to handle.


    I would need to avoid the sun and dry places from now on, otherwise it will make the rotting process progress a lot faster. My wounds won¡¯t heal either; most undead can regenerate, but not at this level.


    I also need to constantly leak arcane force into the body. Before the pact, I was doing it subconsciously. But now that I have higher control over my power I stopped it; trying to see what would happen and in cause it almost made me fall over and die. Permanently.


    Even thought this body no longer needs sleep; now I have to do it a lot more, my pact will only send me the juice which I need to sustain it when I do, and I have a limit of how much I can store at a time.


    So avoiding the use of magic would be ideal.


    I can think of a few solutions to this current dilemma.


    One would be the most obvious, advancing in my undead rank; becoming a wight or maybe a lich.


    The more powerful I would become the less these current problem would bother me, but honestly I¡¯m not into being permanently rotting, a freak or desperate.


    And undead are¡­ Indeed foul and meagre creatures.


    The second option would be to restore this body¡¯s life force. That would be a real botheration, I would need a lot of resource that are unlikely to exist in this world¡­ a big ritual and a lot of sacrifices to harvest life-force, and that would mean having the means to actually do it.


    I can¡¯t bother Seth to go on a never ending errand run. He clearly has enough problems to deal with instead of wasting time babysitting me.


    And the third one, the one I will provably go for.


    Body swapping. An heinous art and outright forgiven in pretty much all of the existence, it has many disadvantages. Like losing all the power and nurture that I would have gathered into the previous body; and it would also cause a certain degree of damage to the soul, it would also take decades to get used to the new body.


    The success rate is very low; leading to death, even final death is possible with these methods.


    Death would lose its job in case body swapping became mainstream; or not¡­ someone would have to always die.


    But it¡¯s not like swapping shoes.


    Many who are desperate for immortality practice this art. Either by not being able to expand their lifespan or by just being rich and crazy enough to not bother with the losses.


    As for me; well I happen to have an ace in my sleeve. Back in my castle at hell, the one were Seth used to serve; this particular storeroom where I keep a good chunk of the treasures I gathered and pretty much hoarded random crap; there was something I nabbed during my time in heaven.


    A forgiven relic.


    These are something that the highest entity in existence¡­ That wretched creator banned. He would gather them and lock them away in a forgotten realm inside his residence. I managed to sneak into there once.


    Stealing would be impossible. He made sure of that, but I had tricks that even the almighty wretch couldn¡¯t anticipate. An only use treasure painstakingly invented and created by none other than me back when I was on the road of my pursuit of power; and in defiance of the laws that he had set for the universe.


    It¡¯s an one use item. It looks like a fork made of ash; once one stabs it to another object, no matter how powerful or how mundane it was, it would become an exact replica of it.


    I invaded that forgiven dimension and ended up stabbing one of the forgiven relics at random. Circumstance back then led time to be short; before getting caught I had no rime to test the hundreds of random heaven defying treasures.


    And so, I left it to luck.


    Later on; he ended up filling the vault with mundane objects among the relics in way to counter my method. Making the endeavour completely not worth the risk; i would be more likely to stab my fork on a mundane chair than one of the unassuming heaven defying artefacts.


    Yes, some of them looked like chairs. Pillows, and such; yet it did not make their powers any less terrifying.


    I did spend a good amount of time trying to figure out what that copy that I obtained could do, without wasting it. And well¡­ I managed.


    To my despondency, it was just a body swapping tool. Pretty much useless to the me from back then, who was pretty much a perfect being. I ended up just stored it away in some vault inside one of my castles.


    And now, thanks to circumstance¡­ I found a use for it, coincidently  I even contacted Seth who was at the right place.


    I just need to put up with this putrid body long enough for him to send over my dimensional pocket with it inside. And then find a suitable host for my good self.


    That¡¯s my current goal. Let¡¯s plan ahead for my convenience so I don¡¯t have to go around stinking wearing this fool¡¯s rotting body for much longer than I need.


    I looked around.


    Having spent a good amount of time staring into the atmosphere with the most random expressions; I was starting to draw attention from my fellow sorcerers.


    Time to get up and meet people, find a good candidate.


    But first I am heading to the library, I need to check how much this mirror ¡®world¡¯ actually resembles Earth.


    That meant studying some of the local history and maybe geography¡­ some terribly beguiling matters of course.


    I noticed a short younger boy, maybe fourteen or fifteen? His hair was light brown and he wore a grey robe and was holding a big book between his arms, i rushed over to his side and stared at him.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Excuse me, Adam, sir¡­ Is¡­ Is¡­ There something I can help you with?¡± He spoke to me awkwardly,  it seems this boy is shy or maybe he is just scared. I did cultivate a fine reputation these last two days.


    ¡°Show me the way to the library.¡± I commanded.


    ¡°Ma¡­ Ma¡­ Master Adam, your excellency does not know the way to our library?¡± He asked, stuttering and clearly confused.


    ¡°Of course I do! ¡­I just forgot. Now do as I say!¡± I replied, It wasn¡¯t a lie. Sort of.


    ¡°Of¡­Of Course Sir! I was in my way there!¡± He immediately answered and started walking at a fast pace.


    I followed closely behind and glanced at the boy. Small; and with the shakes. I could see many bruises in his hands and one in his neck, provably he is covered in them.


    The most likely cause seems to be bullying, a common occurrence in social circles of the young. Amidst evil priests I suppose that a little prey on the weak isn¡¯t much of a big deal, and the senior members don¡¯t bother to regulate it either.


    And it¡¯s alright. The way I see it, the suffering will either make him stronger or get him killed; culling the weak from our midst. But in the future it may cause many problems; like¡­ low loyalty and a waste of manpower in acts such as revenge, in the end of the day it would not be worth to nurture such behaviours.


    I followed the boy into the prayer halls.


    There were many tall pillars of polished granite spread around like trees from the smooth and polished stone floor, reaching all the way up and disappearing into the shadows of an high vault above. A faint glow of light streamed through several large rose windows, highlighting the intricate stone carvings that decorated the sides of the pillars. A few other priestly sorcerers wandered the halls, quietly muttering their prayers and performing some ritual. The only sound that could be heard was a soft echo of the chanting, and the shuffling of feet as they paced across the cold and solid stone floor.


    Most of them were older members that recognized me and nodded towards me. Other younger lads looked at the boy that I was hanging out with some expression or other. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    He guided me towards a corridor in the side that led to a staircase that went underground.


    This old staircase that lead further into the darkness was lit only by dim oil lanterns was crumbling and somewhat decrepit, the its ancient stone was cracked and loose. It seemed that it had much use and hardly any maintenance. This ancient stone was stained dirty and grey, the walls too worn to tell any of the history that may have once been written upon them. At the base of the stairs laid an old oak door, its hinges rusted with decay.


    The boy knocked on the door casually.


    ¡°Who goes there?¡± A slide on the door opened and an angry old voice came out.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, acolyte Torin. Here to deliver a borrowed book to the library by my master, lord Edwyn¡¯s biding.¡± The boy answered.


    ¡°Again? Ed should come down more often. We do miss him¡­ Only masters are allowed entry inside the third floor.¡± The guard said as he opened the door with a loud bang. ¡°You are lucky that you work in the library¡­ still I¡¯m not allowed to let you pass when you are off duty.¡±


    He was an old man with a bald spotted head and long gray hair in the sides. He was also hunched and smelt of piss.


    He looked at me.


    I looked at him.


    ¡°Acolyte Adam! What a¡­ surprise to see you! Coming here from your own volition, and not being dragged. I heard that you finally got out of your shell!¡± He talked... To me.


    ¡°Move out of my way before I crack yours fool.¡± I stepped inside right in front of him staring down at his bald spotted head. I was taller.


    ¡°Haa¡­¡± The old man moved. ¡°I see you really did, don¡¯t let me keep you, on you go. Your lord father is in his personal chamber if that¡¯s what you are looking for.¡± He said as he grinded his teeth.


    I detest porters, telling me where I can and cannot go¡­


    We walked into a long corridor, A long black carpet with engraved flowers extended on ahead at the sides there were many doors and it went on and on as it stood in the same grey stone floor and walls. This place was also lit only by oil lanterns same as the entrance, there was a great many of them.


    There were many more of the same fashioned oak door from the entrance. As the corridor went on and took its turns, the only differences were the wooden plaques that indicated what was behind each door.


    Like one that read ¡®Master Coleman¡¯s Chambers¡¯ or the one in the entrance that wrote ¡®Portman¡¯s Station¡¯ and ¡®Laboratorium¡¯.


    I noticed a couple of familiar gazes at my back.


    Soon we reached the one that said ¡®Library¡¯. I had counted hundreds of doors as we walked.


    Funnily enough, not far from the library¡¯s entrance was one of these plaques that read ¡®Grand Master¡¯s Chamber.¡¯ and another just below ¡®Strictly prohibited to anyone other than Grand Master himself.¡¯


    It seems he does enjoy his privacy.


    Torin noticed that I was looking towards my father¡¯s chamber and spoke. ¡°Are you planning to go see your father Adam, sir?¡± He asked, no hesitation in his voice.


    ¡°Maybe later. Why do you ask?¡± I inquired.


    ¡°Well¡­ Grand Master Daryle is well, I look up to him a great deal. He is a legend in his own right some even say that he matches  Eryzirity herself in the arts. You know the lady creator of our group. I¡­ I saw him only once¡­ from afar. He has been sequestering himself in his chamber so much these last few years. I wonder what is going on with him.¡± The boy spoke as we entered the library, he had such a great deal of enthusiasm and some worry in his voice.


    ¡°He had told me that he had been in the middle of some important research last I saw him.¡± I muttered loud enough to be heard as I moved my head around taking in the library.


    This library is indeed massive! easily a few stories high; i couldn¡¯t believe that we were already so deep in the underground, they were filled from top to bottom with towering rows of bookshelves. The space Is actually quite quiet and dim, a strange green hue pours from the ceiling to illuminate the whole area, creating a ghostly feeling to the space.


    The air feels strangely dusty, even more so considering the lack of light to collect dust. There is a strange sense of loneliness to the place, as if we were completely alone in the entire library even though there were many masters and acolytes going on about their business.


    Yet even still, the silence is deafening, as if the entire area was watching our every move.


    I figured out the power ranking of this cult. At lowest we have the novices; who well¡­ are just kids being inducted and trained into the order.


    Then come the apprentices or acolytes; kids that had passed some kind of test and were starting into the path of the sorcerers like Tobin here.


    Finally we had the masters, who were mostly the older members all above their thirties and that mean grit about them. Like people who had killed, a lot. Maria was a master somehow; but she doesn¡¯t seem to be the kind to go on about killing.


    And of course the Grand Master.


    Tobin went over to the reception were a middle aged woman wearing the black master¡¯s robes and a pin of a book in her chest was standing, he delivered the book that he was holding and came back to my side.


    ¡°Adam sir, we are here in the library! I spend most of my time here, studying and reading. What kind of book are you looking for?  I can help!¡± He said enthusiastically.


    ¡°Tobin, dear boy. Tell me about this library, like what sort of books it holds; and for how long has it been around.¡± I asked with curiosity, maybe I won¡¯t have to check out the city. This place does seem to possess a lot of knowledge such as the records from the older times.


    I¡¯m sure there are some answers somewhere; like where the fuck in this shitty world a place with good attunement could be found.


    ¡°Sir¡­ You wound me, it¡¯s not Tobin, it¡¯s Torin!¡± The boy muttered. ¡°Well there are books about history, magic, many maps, even biography from sorcerers that came before us and if you care to look you might even come across old newspapers and comic books from the outside world. I mean¡­ the one outside the monastery not the huh¡­¡± He explained.


    ¡°I see.¡± I answered him as I opened a odd yellow book I picked  up from a shelf nearby.


    I read one of its parts aloud, so Robin could hear.


    ¡°If you lie to me I will slay you with my sword, if you tell me the truth, I will slay you with a spell.- What must you say to stay alive?¡± I asked  him.


    He shivered, but then he realized what I was doing and pouted for a while.


    ¡°You will slay me with a sword.¡± He did take a few moments to think, but finally answered.


    I re-read the riddle. And decided to give it some thought.


    ¡°Good answer. You are not as dumb as you look.¡± I returned the book to its shelf.


    ¡°Thank you Adam sir!¡± He immediately answered.


    ¡°How long has this years has this library been around?¡± I asked as I closed the book and gently placed it back.


    The boy looked around confused. ¡°The library has existed since the creation of our monastery I think. About¡­ Six hundred years ago? I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°That long¡­ huh.¡± I walked ahead and took a seat at a table nearby.


    ¡°Go fetch me a map of the world; the more recent the better, and a history book that dates back to the earliest times. Take your time, make sure you find the right ones.¡± I ordered the boy as I laid my head on the table, for a little nap.


    I hadn¡¯t had much sleep tonight.


    ¡°Right away sir!¡± He walked off somewhere.


    ¡ª-


    Maria¡¯s FOV


    A couple hours earlier.


    ¡°No need. Take the day off, like I said I have things to do and I would rather be alone.¡± He said as he walked off on us.


    I have been tasked with keeping an eye on him, and that¡¯s what I intend to do. But after he just revealed earlier, I can¡¯t help but to feel apprehensive. He is dangerous, more dangerous than anything I ever faced.


    Possibly even more than father.


    I should hold my tongue more often around him. Still, he is clearly a threat to our order; a threat to our home.


    Ruth was sitting by my side as we broke our fast together, should I tell her? No¡­ She was very attached to the old Adam, she wouldn¡¯t believe me easily; and the threat he made earlier!?


    I shivered at the thought, the one of having a devil who had an archdevil as a slave as my enemy. I should be grateful and just accept the power he granted me, it¡¯s not like I can stand against him.


    No¡­ don¡¯t be Maria. You can¡¯t think like this, you know that often the things that cost us more are the ones that were granted to us for free.  Father taught you that, and you know best than to ignore his teachings.


    While I was spacing out; going through the thoughts in my head. Ruth got up and started walking off.


    Without saying a word to me! Sometimes I think she really dislikes me.


    Wait¡­ she can¡¯t say anything. Often I forget that.


    I rushed over to her side, someone later would clean the table.


    ¡°Hey Ruth.¡± I taped her shoulder as soon as I caught up.


    She looked up to me, narrowing her eyes.


    ¡°I want to test the new patron, you up for a spar like the old times? We haven¡¯t done so since before I became a master. What do you say?¡± I asked her.


    She looked around seemingly confused but eventually nodded.


    We walked together the way to the training grounds, underground.


    We used to spare all the time there when we were both younger. Sure we had that age gap, I¡¯m in my one and twenty and  her in her ten and seven.


    Everyone recognized me as a genius when I became the youngest master over the last century, just last year, most people would only get there when they reached their thirties if they lived long enough. They told me I had talent, that I would accomplish great things, it is fate.


    Bullshit.


    I got there thanks to nepotism, I recognize that. And thanks to the superior patron that father gave me; while others crawled around in the dirt I got to enjoy learning magic.


    I also realise that all my hard work , those sleepless nights reading my tomes amounted to nothing¡­ nothing really. I¡¯m a fool and I never learn.


    All these others here would be better than me in everything. I would be like the ones who die in the test to become apprentices if father hadn¡¯t held my hand back then.


    Ruth on the other hand. She is the real thing, I have never beaten her in anything. Magic? She is the one I reach for when I hit a wall. Alchemy? Hers are the book I borrow. She is almost half a decade younger than me! How can she be so much better like this?


    She is the genius, yet they all believe I am the one. Since I became a master we stopped sparring, I had so much to do since then, duties to attend to.  I haven¡¯t had much time really.


    I hope she doesn¡¯t resent me for it.


    But now with our new patron we are both clueless in what we are capable off, I can do this. This time I will find out what I am actually capable of.


    We walked out of the cantina together; into the garden at the centre. At the sides there was the rustic stone hallways were others made their way to their duties.


    I breathed in glancing around this old place where I pretty much grew up, playing with my brothers. There was always an air of mystery and intrigue here, hanging about the monastery garden. Its shadowy corners always whispering secrets of hidden pasts.


    The thick bushes and tall trees reaching into the air, their leaves casting swirling shadows across the paved paths that twisted and turned through the now overgrown foliage.


    The old keeper of the garden passed; now a few months back and the foliage is starting to grow out of the control. Maybe I should start tending to it¡­ or maybe ask father to appoint a new one.


    No¡­ He has been too much busy these last few years, bothering him with such trivialities¡­ wouldn''t be such good idea.


    At the heart of the garden, an old stone statue of a crow stood sentry; its features shrouded in gloom and its presence a mute reminder of the secrets hidden within the monastery¡¯s walls.


    I remember back when i was seven, Rob and Dough taught me to climb it. We played make believe that we were pirates. Like in the story books that the master that was in charge of taking care of us had sneaked out of the library to read us to bed.


    A few years later in turn I taught and played with Adam and Ruth too.


    Those days now feel like a lifetime ago. Another world¡­


    Ruth got lost in her studies, Adam became a creep that rarely came out of his room. Rob and Dough turned into jerks and once I grew up past¡­ they started taking advantage of¡­ I don¡¯t want to think about it. Those times are past, and once father found out they were punished. Never again.


    We all grew so far apart. The others in the monastery are either afraid of us because of our father or have malicious ambitions in their minds.


    It hurts. Being surrounded by people and yet. Feeling such loneliness all the time. I started isolating myself too.


    Only being with her sometimes. The one secret¡­


    Adam yesterday came out of his shell. I thought Rob and Dough had killed him but he came back to us. But it was not him, some wicked creature in his place. Yet I didn¡¯t knew.


    He brought Ruth along we went to town. Something I always wanted to do, we met people¡­ and it was¡­ such genuine fun.


    And now that I know what he is¡­ And Ruth doesn¡¯t. I¡¯m afraid.


    I am so afraid.


    We won¡¯t have a happy ending. I know that. With devils there are never happy endings.


    My trial to become a master taught me that.


    I killed her; It was my choice.


    We entered the underground complex. As we went down, suddenly as we went down the stairs we spotted him.


    Adam. He was threatening the poor porter, I hid in the shadow along with Ruth. She made a puzzled face but didn¡¯t stop me. I wonder what he is up to.


    Is that Torbin by his side? A sharp boy with a sharper tongue. He often got in trouble from what I had heard. He was one of my brother¡¯s Rob and Dough favourite victims those two scum.


    They walked in. That¡¯s were the true cult was, only the ones who were officially tested and accepted could enter this place. Only masters, it was the truth of our home and our secrets. Everything above ground was just a farce to show to the outside world.


    They granted me a room down here. Which I refused, id rather sleep without the sound of the screams caused¡­ by well the nature of our work; I kept my old surface room. One down here; the third floor of the ¡®underdimension¡¯ was exclusive to masters like me; for a fee. And on the second floor only acolytes could have rooms.


    Adam wasn¡¯t really allowed down here¡­ Is he using Torbin to pass? Clever¡­


    We followed them through the corridors. They were heading towards father¡¯s room? Maybe the library?


    I immediately knew that Adam had noticed us. But he didn¡¯t react, clearly uninterested. Eventually we reached where the training grounds were.


    Ruth tugged at me. She wasn¡¯t interested in stalking Adam. She didn¡¯t knew who he was, the danger he posed after all.


    I entered along with her. I promised a spar after all.