Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 77 - Fear the Reaper - Part Two

 

Confused, I stared back at the small girl while trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

 

“How...How do you know my name?” I asked warily, struggling to justify the strangeness of everything that had happened up until this point.

 

“Because you don’t belong here,” the pale-skinned girl repeated condescendingly. “This is nothing more than a twisted memory.”

 

“A memory?” I repeated, feeling an undeniable element of truth in the words as I spoke them aloud.

 

“A TWISTED memory,” the girl corrected irritably. “Someone is taking advantage of your weakened state to try and do...something...” She looked toward the shore and stared at the young woman in the business suit. “Or maybe...Maybe it wasn't twisted at all...”

 

“I don’t understand...” I admitted somewhat hesitantly.

 

“I would ask what you remember, but that would be a wasted effort,” the girl commented dismissively. “Now, be quiet and let me concentrate.”

 

Still confused and uncertain of what I should do, I shifted uncomfortably in the surf. I hadn’t been spoken to so forcefully by a child in over a decade. Even then, it hadn’t amounted to more than proclaiming I was a ‘poop head’.

 

“Strange...” The small deathly pale girl muttered and hissed irritably between her teeth. “I can’t sense any signs of tampering...”

 

The familiar siren of an ambulance drew my focus from the small girl and toward the shore. Flashing red and blue lights cascaded down the scraggly face of the dunes and illuminated a pair of well-built EMTs rushing toward the beach and...

 

I felt an intense sense of vertigo and nearly collapsed into the surf.

 

The young woman who had followed me to the beach was waving her arms at the approaching EMTs, phone in hand and frantically pointing to the form of a second small girl lying in the sand at her feet.

 

Except it wasn’t another girl.

 

I glanced to the side and was surprised to find that the girl was still there despite clearly...

 

I felt another wave of vertigo, only this time, I collapsed into the water. Soaking my clothes and momentarily stunning me into inaction as the ice-cold water seized at my nethers.

 

Gasping in shock I scrambled to draw myself upright again. All the while staring at my doppelganger on the beach.

 

“She isn’t breathing!” My other self called out in a panic, kneeling at the girl’s side and drawing his hands from her chest, “She was out in the water and...Oh god...”

 

“I...” I looked down at my hands and felt a wave of nausea begin to build in my gut. My hands had begun to shake violently and I couldn’t stop it. Acidic bile rose in my throat and I vomited into the waves rushing past my thighs.

 

Pressing my hands under my arms, I watched in stunned silence as the EMTs performed emergency CPR for several minutes, and then stopped.

 

Police arrived a short while afterwards, detaining my other self and asking questions I was too far away to hear. Even without hearing the words, I could tell by the hard look in their eyes that they assumed the worst. Assumed that my other self had been directly involved in the girl’s drowning.

 

To my immense surprise, the young woman who had followed me to the beach appeared to be arguing with the police, and against my expectations, seemed to change their minds.

 

The hard eyes of the officers became indifferent or sympathetic, and after a second round of questioning, my other self was left alone.

 

Rising to his feet, my other self retrieved my bag from where I had cast it aside and began retreating up the dunes.

 

As my other self turned his back, the officers, EMTs, the young woman and even the body of the small girl disappeared. The beach persisted through the disappearances, taking on a serene yet cold ambience.

 

“This is...” The pale girl cocked her head curiously to one side and slowly took in the beach. “This shouldn’t be possible...To persist despite your absence...” She turned to consider me, her eyes still concealed by the wet hair plastered to her face. “Gric has claimed this place belonged to your mother. Is this true?”

 

“It was my mother’s favourite place...” I replied numbly, trying and failing to process everything that had transpired. My eyes were drawn toward a grassy patch on the uppermost dunes. “It was where she died...” I added, almost as an afterthought.

 

“Oh...” The girl sounded embarrassed, even somewhat sympathetic.

 

“She made me take her here...Wanted to look out at the sea one last time...” I continued quietly. “After her funeral, I spread her ashes from the top of the dunes...”

 

A long silence passed between us, broken only by the rushing waves and distant rumble of thunder.

 

Looking away from the dunes, I realised the small girl was gone.

 

Feeling irreconcilably tired I closed my eyes and allowed the reassuring crash of the surf to clear my mind, surrendering myself to the ambient noises that had ingrained themselves in my soul since childhood.

 

***** Ril ~ ????? ~ ????? *****

 

Ril watched in silence as the manifestation of Tim’s subconscious faded and merged anew with the avatar of his memory.

 

Having lost the manifestation that allowed her to communicate directly with Tim’s subconscious, Ril had no choice but to follow his avatar in silence.

 

Tim’s world was more or less as she had expected. Ril had feasted on the souls of several Labyrinth Lords over the centuries. The most recent had been roughly four or maybe five decades earlier.

 

From what Ril could tell, very little had changed.

 

Tim walked alone through the empty streets. Any passersby who saw his approach abruptly decided they had taken a wrong turn and hastily moved to rectify their mistake. If Tim noticed, he made no sign of it.

 

Tim’s home was spacious but he had a way of making the open spaces appear cramped, barely passing between furniture without knocking them out of the way with his bulk.

 

Listlessly wandering from room to room, Tim eventually ascended a sturdy set of stairs to the second floor of the house and entered his room.

 

Just the same as the rest of the house, his room was sparsely furnished. However, the walls held unframed portraits of scantily clad muscular human females.

 

Some of the females were flexing their muscles. Others were engaging in what Ril could only assume was intended as exercise or competition.

 

Given Tim’s choice of mate, Ril decided that the portraits represented targets of unrequited romantic or lustful interest. Which made Tim’s despair all the more telling.

 

Despite staring at the wall opposite his bed, Tim wasn’t looking at the portraits of scantily clad females. He wasn’t looking at anything.

 

Hours passed in utter silence.

 

Tim hadn’t moved an inch or made a single sound.

 

He hadn’t noticed the two large human males skirting outside his house either. Which Ril found strange.

 

According to her prior experiences traversing the minds of lesser beings, a subject should not know about events outside of their perceived experiences as they originally experienced them. Yet Ril had seen the two males approach through the window behind him and was now following them outside of the house.

 

“In an’ out, real clean like,” the first male grunted quietly, withdrawing a hooked iron club from the inside of his coat and giving it a menacing heft.

 

“Gotcha,” the second male agreed, drawing a large knife from his coat in turn. “We’re just scaring him or?...” He left the remainder unspoken.

 

“Boss wants to know what he’s about,” the first male replied. “Wasn’t specific in how we go about it.”

 

The second male grinned excitedly, eager for violence.

 

“He’s a big fucker...” The first continued quietly as they arrived at the back door of the house. “So, he gets antsy, drop him.”

 

The second male nodded eagerly.

 

Testing the door, both they and Ril were surprised to find it wasn’t locked.

 

Entering through the back door, the two males slowly prowled through the house with their weapons at the ready.

 

Checking in on Tim, Ril found him still sitting on his bed and staring at the wall.

 

Ril could see the two males quietly ascending the stairs and came to a realisation.

 

This was how he had died. Wallowing in self-pity and despair, Tim had been murdered in his own home.

 

Except...

 

Ril considered Tim for several long moments and would have frowned if she had a body to do so.

 

Something still didn’t fit.

 

Every other Labyrinth Lord Ril had the displeasure to have known, had been a hardened killer. Some of them had been soldiers and had expressed regret over their actions. Others had been demented beyond reason, viewing their own Species as lower forms of life to be preyed upon. Tim was different...

 

He was...pathetic...

 

The sudden crash of breaking glass and ceramic drew Ril’s attention back toward the two invaders in the hall.

 

To Ril’s surprise, the noise caused Tim to stir as well.

 

Eerily silent for someone so large, Tim rose to his feet and left his room.

 

The invaders were headed toward a closed door down the opposite end of the hall and didn’t see his approach.

 

They didn’t see Tim look down at the small broken portrait of a smiling middle-aged female and a broken funerary urn.

 

They didn’t see the rage burning in his eyes.

 

Perhaps sensing the danger, the second male turned his head and caught sight of Tim looming over him. “OH FUCK!!!!” He yelped in fear and swung wildly at Time while trying to run away.

 

Ignoring the crimson gash across his chest, Tim grabbed the second male by the throat and squeezed.

 

There was a wet crunch, and like a puppet with severed strings, the second male grew limp and proceeded to void his bowels and bladder. Ril could tell that he wasn’t dead, at least, not yet.

 

Letting out a low dangerous growl, and still firmly holding the second male by the throat, Tim stalked toward the first.

 

Terrified, the first male dropped his club and fumbled for something at his back while retreating from Tim. “S-STAY BACK!” The terrified male squealed, his voice pleading rather than demanding Tim’s compliance.

 

The second male gurgled something unintelligible, choking on his own spit as Tim maintained his vice-like grip on his oesophagus.

 

Backing away toward the stairs, the first male drew a small strange weapon from behind his back, and it took Ril a few moments to identify it as one of the bizarre metal-spitting weapons the humans employed in this world. “I SAID STAY BACK!!!” The first male repeated, waving the weapon frantically in what he probably hoped was an intimidating fashion.

 

Tim stopped and appeared to consider the weapon for a moment. But only for a moment. Renewing his advance, Tim cast the second male over the railing and onto the floor below.

 

He landed with a second sickening crunch, and from her vantage, Ril could see that the man was dead. The side of his head had struck the corner of a small table, breaking the table and cracking the male’s skull.

 

The weapon in the first male’s hands barked several times in rapid succession, spitting metal from its muzzle and into Tim’s body.

 

Crimson patches began to spread across Tim’s chest and back, not that he paid them any mind.

 

Advancing on the remaining intruder, Tim grabbed the male by his shoulders and began to pull.

 

The male howled in pain and his shoulders and chest began making muted wet crunching sounds as Tim slowly but steadily ripped the male’s right arm out of its socket. To Ril’s surprise, Tim didn’t stop there and continued pulling, dislocating the other shoulder.

 

In his pain, the male dropped his weapon.

 

Tim didn’t notice, or didn’t care, and continued to draw the male’s arms in opposite directions.

 

With a wet ripping sound, the male’s right arm tore free from his torso, causing him to swing in Tim’s grasp and pump blood from the ragged stump of his shoulder over Tim’s feet and the landing at the top of the stairs.

 

Raising the intruder by his arm, Tim glared into the dying man’s eyes with hatred and rage that gave Ril pause. This was not the Labyrinth Lord she knew. He was something else, something...darker...

 

As the last of the light left the male’s eyes, Tim cast the dead male and his crudely amputated appendage down the stairs.

 

As the rage left Tim’s eyes and he slowly staggered back toward the fallen portrait, Ril became aware of the blood running down his calves and ankles. Each breath was accompanied by a wet rattle that grew more severe with each passing moment, matching pace with his increasingly pale skin.

 

Ril had seen the signs often enough to realise that he was dying. However, what she did not understand was why.

 

Ril knew Tim well enough to know that he possessed the knowledge to extend his life through mundane means. So it didn’t make sense that he would choose to do nothing.

 

Trembling Tim stiffly lowered himself to the floor and rested his back against the wall. Reaching for the broken portrait, Tim looked down at the face of the female in the portrait with an expression of regret and shame. “I’m sorry...” He rasped wetly, “I...I just can’t...I’m so tired...I just...I want it all to end...I’m sorry...”

 

Gasping for breath, Tim shakily set the portrait down on the floor.

 

Spitting up a mouthful of blood, he slowly closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

 

Several minutes passed, and Tim died.

 

Bracing herself for the memory’s collapse, Ril was surprised to find herself in the early stages of being ejected from Tim’s mind.

 

By no means a specialist, Ril had enough experience to compensate for a lack of raw power and supporting Abilities. So she was unsettled by the fact that she couldn’t reestablish her hold and continue to the next scene of Tim’s subconscious. However, as she returned to her body, Ril was shocked to discover why she had been driven from Tim’s subconscious.

 

Tim, was awake.

 

Eyes black as pitch, Tim rose from his bed in complete silence, and before anyone present could react, disappeared.

 

“Tim!” Toofy cried out in distress, breaking the silence.

 

Although she was unsure why, Ril felt a pang of guilt. She had intended to wake Tim from the beginning, but she had not expected him to wake of his own accord. Taking Toofy’s hand, Ril gave it a reassuring squeeze, “I will find him Mama, and bring him back.”

 

On the verge of hysterics, Toofy looked at her with a conflicting expression of relief and profound concern. “Ril is sure? Ril be safe?” She asked hesitantly, evidently unwilling to place her in harm's way, even to rescue her friend.

 

“I will be safe, Mama,” Ril promised, touched by Toofy’s concern for her wellbeing. Another reminder of why she needed to reestablish the status quo.

 

For all his faults, Tim had created this fleeting moment of happiness, and Ril intended to make it last as long as she was able.

 

Gathering her MP, Ril cast out her senses and locked onto Tim’s position. Thankfully, he hadn’t left the realm, so the MP expenditure would be minor.

 

Teleporting close to Tim’s location, Ril instinctively ducked low to the ground intending to hide herself from sight.

 

She was just in time to witness a mature Coleopteran warrior become impaled by several stone spears projecting from the ground a few feet ahead of her position.

 

Mind racing, Ril took in her surroundings with supernaturally accelerated speed.

 

They were in the isolated territory nominally identified as Acheron, which was overrun by hundreds of the Coleopteran warriors.

 

Scowling darkly, Tim exuded an aura of pure undiluted rage.

 

Gathering MP at a dangerously reckless scale, he cast dozens of white-hot lances of fire at the closest Coleopteran warriors.

 

Despite the extreme speed of the magical missiles, the Coleopteran warriors were faster and managed to dodge out of the way.

 

Or so it seemed.

 

Correcting course mid-flight, the projectiles chased the Coleopteran warriors down, gaining in speed with each passing moment.

 

They didn’t seem to realise, but Tim was baiting them closer deliberately.

 

Appearing to take the bait, one of the Coleopteran warriors charged Tim directly, a host of magical weapons ready to eviscerate his unprotected flesh.

 

Indifferent to the danger, Tim made no outward signs of intending to defend himself. However, his reserve of gathered MP remained just as bountiful as before.

 

And yet, Ril could sense another Spell had been activated.

 

Stumbling, the Coleopteran warrior was struck in the back and its wings were immediately incinerated. Before the Coleopteran warrior could attempt to regain its composure, its carapace began to crack and wither.

 

Within a handful of heartbeats, the Coleopteran warrior was reduced to a mound of crumbling ash.

 

With the Coleopteran warrior’s death, Tim redoubled his offensive efforts, sending dozens more of the fiery missiles into the scattering ranks of the Coleopteran warriors.

 

Twice more, larger Coleopteran warriors attempted to charge Tim directly and engage him in a bloody melee. Both Coleopteran warriors fared no better than the first.

 

Changing tactics, the host of Coleopteran warriors began hurling weapons from a distance.

 

The instant the weapons left their owners' hands, they disappeared.

 

The world shifted.

 

Tim appeared before one of the largest Coleopteran warriors and it immediately collapsed to its knees. Still assaulting the other Coleopteran warriors with fire, Tim conjured another and drove it straight into the collapsed Coleopteran warrior’s head.

 

The Coleopteran warrior released a keening cry that made Ril’s ears ache abominably.

 

Tim appeared unaffected and made a point of twisting the flaming lance.

 

Ril felt an immensely powerful, and familiar, presence attempting to gain purchase on her mind. However, before she could deflect the attempt, Tim intercepted it.

 

There was a desperate unseen scramble for dominance, and then the presence retreated.

 

Bleeding from his eyes, ears and nose, Tim withdrew the flaming lance from the Coleopteran warrior’s head and sent it after someone else.

 

Tim spat bloody phlegmonto the fallen Coleopteran warrior and its body disintegrated.

 

Senses overloaded by the Spell he had just cast, Ril collapsed prone into the dirt. Trying to rise, she collapsed anew as Tim began repeating the Spell in rapid succession. A Spell she couldn’t help but recognise.

 

Life Drain.

 

To Ril’s knowledge, the Spell was meant to be ruinously costly, and that was before Empowering the Spell.

 

Directing her senses toward Tim, Ril only became more confused. As best she could tell, Tim was not losing MP at all. Searching her memories, Ril decided there was only one possible explanation.

 

Tim was using Sorcery.

 

Intended as a last-ditch measure, the Ability allowed the use of HP in place of MP for casting Spells. Using Sorcery to cast Life Drain would, theoretically, allow for indefinite casting of the Spell. Provided Tim had a living target to drain and replenish his HP. However, using HP when he still had MP available was nothing short of reckless. A recklessness that was compounded when paying for the Empowered effect on top of the original Spell.

 

The Coleopteran warriors began to retreat, Teleporting from the territory. However, their retreat was abruptly terminated as Tim set down an Empowered Anchor and exercised his authority to draw all remaining Coleopteran warriors within his realm to the wartorn fields of Acheron.

 

“Die,” Tim commanded, triggering a cascade of spontaneous disintegration.

 

Ril could only watch as Coleopteran warriors died by the score without being allowed so much as a chance to defend themselves.

 

It was a massacre.

 

Unnerved by Tim’s unexpected ruthlessness, Ril now understood the purpose of reliving the memory of the final days of his previous life. It was a simple matter of manipulation by stripping away the convenient lies that formed the bedrock of his self-perception.

 

Tearing down the person he thought he was and leaving something far darker in its place.

 

If Tim had been left to his own devices, he may have arrived at this point in the not-too-distant future, but there had been no certainty of it.

 

Recognising her failure for what it was, Ril felt a rare churning of shame twist her insides.

 

If she had made the effort to do so, Ril knew she could have derailed the memory. Allowed things to remain as they were for a while longer.

 

Tim began slowly pacing down the length of the field.

 

Following him from a distance, Ril wasn’t sure what to do. In his altered state of mind, there was no guarantee of her safety, and while she had no fear of death, Ril knew that Toofy would be inconsolable.

 

Was this any different? She wondered.

 

Every moment that passed made the changes that much more likely to stick.

 

She was too late to change what Tim had seen, but perhaps not too late to change his perception.

 

Making her choice, Ril scampered out of her hiding place and took on speed to catch up to-

 

Ril nearly lost her footing as she suddenly appeared at Tim’s side. He hadn’t stopped walking, but it was obvious that he was somewhat aware of her intentions.

 

“You saw it all, didn’t you...” Tim observed darkly. Beneath his anger was a profound undercurrent of despair that made it clear he was not referring to the massacre of the Coleopteran warriors.

 

“I did,” Ril admitted truthfully.

 

Tim grunted unintelligibly in response.

 

“It should not change who you are,” Ril asserted, probing Tim to more accurately gauge his mental state and receptivity.

 

Tim looked down at her with an incredulous expression on his face. “How could it not? I murdered two people...I tore a man’s arm off...”

 

“You did,” Ril agreed, trying not to sound dismissive. “They intended you harm, and you defended yourself.”

 

Staring ahead and at nothing in particular, Tim shook his head.

 

“Your story has not changed,” Ril insisted determinedly. “Only the details of a chapter long since passed.”

 

Tim scowled. “I murdered two people...”

 

Struggling to come to grips with his source of distress, Ril decided to probe deeper. “You have slain thousands before coming into this knowledge,” she accused. “Why must two lives matter more than they?”

 

Tim tightly pressed his lips together and his fingers twitched dangerously. “They shouldn’t...” He agreed quietly. “But they do...”

 

“Why?” Rill pressed.

 

Tim’s hands balled into fists and trembled from the tension.

 

Ril considered widening the space between them but promptly discarded the idea. “You did not believe yourself capable of such violence. That is why it is different,” she reasoned.

 

Tim unclenched his fists but said nothing.

 

“But this is where you were wrong,” Ril insisted. “You have always been capable. What you lacked was motivation.”

 

Tim frowned and furrowed his brow. He stopped walking shortly after as he became increasingly lost in thought. After several tense minutes of silence, he closed his eyes, sighed deeply and opened them again.

 

The blackness that had clouded his eyes was gone, and while Tim still appeared troubled, he was no longer teetering on the brink of homicidal rage.

 

“Thank you, Ril,” Tim said quietly.

 

Ril eyed him warily, nodded tersely in acknowledgement, and then Teleported away.

 

***** Tim ~ Tim’s Realm ~ Sanctuary *****

 

Staring up at the early night sky, It was difficult not to wish everything to disappear. The thoughts themselves left me feeling profoundly guilty, threatening to form a self-perpetuating loop of angst.

 

Although Ril hadn’t said it in as many words, I was behaving like a child.

 

Why should two lives matter more than the others?

 

I had killed thousands and was responsible for the deaths of many more.

 

I was still disappointed and upset with myself, but it was something I would just have to deal with.

 

If I was truly honest with myself, the brutal death of the two home invaders hadn’t been the main cause for my distress.

 

Giving up. Allowing myself to die without making so much as a token effort to prolong my life, that’s what disturbed me most of all.

 

There was a big difference between falling down the stairs and bleeding to death while unconscious and making the conscious decision to bleed out.

 

It wasn’t suicide, but it wasn’t much better.

 

Giving up like that...It shook me to my core. What made it worse was feeling and agreeing with all the motivating justifications my past self had made. Reconciling those feelings against my current experiences was messy and thoroughly depressing.

 

I was confident that I had regained a certain degree of equilibrium but still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being around other people. I didn’t want them to see me like this.

 

Thankfully, I had a ready excuse.

 

Turning my attention toward the mounds of dust scattered throughout the territory, I felt a fresh stab of guilt over my reckless behaviour.

 

While effective, relying so heavily on Sorcery had been dangerous. If the enemy had fled en masse, there was a chance that I could have drained myself into a critical state before I was able to use my authority and draw them back. Assuming they didn’t flee my realm entirely.

 

Unlike other battles against the Humans, I felt no guilt in killing the giant insects.

 

They had butchered innocent civilians, attempted to murder me in cold blood, and invaded my realm. I did not pity them.

 

Reviewing the notifications gave a name to the Species I was at war with.

 

Coleoptera.

 

To my knowledge, Coleoptera was the scientific designation for beetles or something along those lines. Which seemed to fit the general physical appearance of the monsters themselves.

 

I regretted not taking a prisoner when I had the chance. Despite my victory and purging the beetlemen from my realm, I still had no idea what they wanted and why they had ambushed me in the first place.

 

Continuing to review my notifications, one in particular drew my attention. I had gained another Class Ability.

 

Eldritch Core.

 

It provided a second, albeit smaller, source of MP. It was incapable of independent regeneration but could be filled using my existing MP. The primary benefit lay in the Eldritch effect being applied to any Spell cast using MP from the core. Afflicting affected enemies with Panic, Fear or even Terror.

 

I couldn’t argue with the obvious benefits such effects would have in combat situations and having extra MP available for emergencies would provide peace of mind.

 

Searching through the piles of ash, I began gathering a collection of exotic but otherwise mundane weapons.

 

I had hoped that by inspecting the weapons, I would discover how the Coleoptera’ had conjured their weapons out of thin air. However, after carefully examining hundreds of weapons, I was no closer to discovering how the enemy had called them to hand in the heat of battle.

 

Close to giving up, I stumbled across a large diamond. Unlike the weapons, the diamond contained an immense amount of mana. Approaching the diamond, I felt the faint touch of a malign presence on the periphery of my mind. Identifying the diamond as a threat, I gathered my MP and tried to decide which Spell would work best at destroying the diamond.

 

Perhaps sensing my intentions, the malign presence within the diamond lashed out with a telepathic attack.

 

Weathering the attack, I decided to conjure Shiverfang and deliver a Thundering Strike to the core of the diamond.

 

<STOP!!!> More a command than a desperate plea, the telepathically transmitted voice boomed through my mind like thunder.

 

<Why should I?> I demanded curtly, making a point of inching the tip of Shiverfang’s blade closer to the diamond.

 

<I POSSESS ANSWERS.> The voice failed to elaborate further.

 

<What answers?” I pressed warily.

 

<ASK. I WILL ANSWER.> The voice replied evasively.

 

<Why did you attack me?> I demanded bluntly, determined to destroy the diamond if I didn’t like the answer.

 

<DUTY COMPELS US.> The voice replied.

 

<Duty?!> I demanded incredulously. <You killed thousands of innocent people!>

 

<DEATHS OF LESSER SPECIES ARE OF NO IMPORTANCE.> The voice replied dismissively.

 

Disgusted by the voice’s reply, I scored a deep cut into the diamond. Hoping that the damage to the crystal would cause the owner of the voice some measure of pain.

 

<ATTACHMENT IS WEAKNESS.> The voice asserted. <DUTY IS ALL.>

 

<Duty to who?> I asked icily. <What could justify so much death?!>

 

There was no immediate reply. <SEEK OUT THE DOMINION. SURRENDER YOURSELF TO FATE.> The voice demanded and then disappeared, removing itself from my mind.

 

“Fate?...” I scowled and drove Shiverfang through the diamond, cleaving it in two.

 

Whatever binding lay within the diamond collapsed and the mana dissipated. I continued dissecting the diamond into increasingly smaller pieces, just for good measure. If the item was capable of independently establishing a telepathic link without the target's consent, there was no telling what else it could do if left to its own devices. Better to see it destroyed than run that risk.

 

Mulling over the words of the presence that had communicated through the diamond, I was forced to accept that the beetlemen would just keep coming. I couldn’t just defend my borders and hope they would leave my people alone.

 

They had tried to kill me and had very nearly succeeded.

 

Twice I had fought them, but I still wasn’t sure of their true strength. The first confrontation, an ambush, had been on their terms. The second, a massacre, had been on mine.

 

While within my realm, I had a massive advantage. The advantages afforded by my authority gave me cause to believe that while I may be able to kill up to a dozen or so of the beetlemen in what approximated a fair fight outside of my realm, I would inevitably fall to a coordinated strike or hastily prepared ambush.

 

I wasn’t nearly so powerful that I could just sweep enemies aside in perpetuity. I had learned as much while fighting the undead. Eventually, I would need to sleep, and that would make me vulnerable.

 

Even if I were to flee back to my realm, I would then lose any ground that was taken.

 

There was also the matter of defending my realm while I was otherwise indisposed.

 

During my absence, two territories had been invaded, and there was no telling how much further the invaders may have been able to push if I hadn’t returned when I had.

 

I needed to make some changes.

 

With Tartarus and Acheron, both compromised already, I merged them both together. Taking the water from several unassigned territories, I flooded the newly joined territories until the tallest landmarks were completely submerged beneath a hundred feet of water.

 

After seeding the new territory with aquatic wild monsters to form what might pass for a hostile yet functioning ecosystem, I set the new default arrival point to my realm in the centre of the territory.

 

Anyone who was not one of my subjects or lacked a token marking them as an ally would be stranded in a small freshwater ocean of aquatic predators.

 

Intending to take matters further, I transplanted several of Hana’s experimental Affinity-aligned plants and actively spread them across the surface and bottom of the water. I used the Plant Growth Spell and my Wood Affinity to exponentially multiply their numbers.

 

Even though they were unquestionably vicious, the aquatic monsters were not what I intended to guard the territory. They would serve as a tertiary defence, but it was not their primary purpose.

 

They would be the guardian’s food.

 

Sitting on the ocean floor, I conjured a dark grey and blue egg into my hand. A gift from Yi Gim, the egg was said to contain a powerful water serpent with the Water Affinity. It would almost certainly need time to grow. However, if the monsters of the Cultivator world were anything like the monsters from within the Labyrinths, it would only take a few months to develop into a serious threat.

 

The Water Affinity aligned energies were currently incredibly thin, but they would grow in time.

 

With that thought in mind, I gathered my Chi and then focused my mind on using it to surround and permeate the egg. Using my authority to prevent the currents from diluting my Chi, it wasn’t long before I felt the creature within the egg begin to stir.

 

When my Chi ran dry, I drew upon my internal energy directly. Although it caused me pain, the activity within the egg intensified close to a hundredfold.

 

Just as I was beginning to consider cutting off the flow of internal energy, the sides of the egg began to crack. Convinced to persist through the pain, I patiently and eagerly waited for the egg to hatch.

 

I didn’t have to wait long.

 

Keen on escaping its ovum prison, the serpent made a desperate attack against the side of the shell and cast a cloud of amniotic fluid into the surrounding water. No larger than my pinky finger, the tiny serpent had eel-like fins running down the length of its body and a pair of thin arms with webbed fingers. Long thin tendrils beneath the serpent’s snout trailed through the water as the serpent circled my hand and wove between the fingers of my right hand.

 

Spined fins on the sides of its head waved in time with its movements and disturbed its loose pale white mane. Providing a stark contrast against the serpent’s obsidian scales that seemed to trap and smother the light surrounding its body.

 

A notification had appeared in my peripheral vision as the serpent had hatched, but I paid it little mind.

 

[ Unidentified Species has been detected. ]

[ Incorporating Species into Codex. ]

 

Gently scratching the underside of the serpent’s chin with my finger I was surprised when another notification appeared in the centre of my vision.

 

[ Abyssal Serpent {Kwan} has requested a {Soul Bond}. Accept? (Y/N) ]

 

Attempting to answer in the affirmative, my words were reduced to a stream of bubbles and muffled blubbering noises. The notification didn’t seem to care and took my answer as I had intended, confirming the bond.

 

The tiny serpent, Kwan, spun several times on the spot and then nuzzled against my face. <Hungry. Feed.> A childish voice demanded eagerly.

 

I hadn’t sensed a telepathic link form and was taken somewhat by surprise.

 

<Hungry.> The voice repeated insistently, skittishly eyeing the surrounding water.

 

Conjuring a roasted Swamp Lurker carcass, I watched in amusement as Kwan raced toward it.

 

<Gratitude!> Kwan released several dolphin-like clicking noises as he plunged his head into a hole in the Swamp Lurker’s side and began feasting on the flesh within.

 

Watching the tiny serpent gorge itself, I felt some of the more oppressive tension in my mind and shoulders begin to ebb. However, my attitude changed rather significantly after inspecting Kwan’s Status.

 

His first Status was more or less in line with what I had come to expect from Ushu, Dhizi and Cooper, gaining defensive Abilities from his scales and as an aquatic predator.

 

It was Kwan’s Cultivation Status that concerned me. If I remembered things clearly, Yi Gim had said the serpent would possess the Water Affinity. Which was true. However, Kwan also had the Death Affinity, and it was considerably higher than the Water Affinity.

 

Concerned that the Affinity might have negatively impacted Kwan’s health, I did my best to look him over for signs of deformity or disease. A task made more difficult by his feeding frenzy.

 

Finding no physical signs that would justify my concerns, I was left to wonder how Kwan had taken on the Affinity in the first place.

 

I wasn’t left wondering for long.

 

I was the cause.

 

Since the last time I had checked my second Status, I had gained over a hundred ranks of Death Affinity. Causing it to take the place of my most dominant Affinity by a massive margin.

 

While I was not particularly knowledgeable regarding Cultivator shenanigans, it was safe to assume that saturating Kwan with my internal energy during his formative development would have certain consequences.

 

As for the massive gain in Death Affinity itself, I was convinced that my prodigious use of the Life Drain Spell was to blame.

 

Still unable to discern any negative effects from the Affinity, I settled into an uneasy meditative state.

 

<Hungry! Feed!> Kwan had doubled in size within less than an hour but was still smaller than the Swamp Lurker he had devoured. The physics of the transformation would have troubled me if I hadn’t witnessed Pete and Suzy eat up to twice their body weight in a single sitting many times before.

 

Conjuring another roasted Swamp Lurker, I noticed that Kwan’s teeth looked far more in line with those of a terrestrial meat eater rather than those of an aquatic predator.

 

Taking a closer look, I could also see small bony nubs beginning to sprout from within his pale mane.

 

By nightfall, Kwan had grown as long as my arm but was still too small to leave behind and fend for himself, and nowhere near strong enough to serve his intended role as guardian for the portal.

 

I couldn’t keep avoiding my family either, so I used my authority to take us both back to Sanctuary.

 

Leaving Kwan in the shallows with a pile of Swamp Lurker carcasses, I slowly made my way up the bank of the lake and toward the cave that served as my home. Looking over my shoulder as I walked, I spotted Momoko sleeping beside Hana in the boughs of the willow tree on the lake. She appeared to have grown while I was away, but I was too far to tell just how much.

 

Pushing aside the leather curtain that served as an intermediary door at the bottom of the passage, I found my family was already asleep.

 

Pete, Suzy and Eg were snuggled up around Lash on our bed.

 

After gently lifting Suzy out of the way so I could make enough space to lie down, I set her down on my chest and stared up at the ceiling in silence.

 

Mentally and emotionally exhausted, I began falling asleep almost immediately.

 

“DADDY!!!” Suzy cried out excitedly.

 

Heart hammering in my chest, I sat bolt-upright and would have sent Suzy flying off my chest and into the kitchen table if she hadn’t already wrapped her arms tightly around my neck.

 

Forcing down the panic through a force of will, I tried to smile but it came out as a grimace.

 

I had a terrible headache and a vague achiness had settled into my bones.

 

Climbing onto the bed, Pete gave me a quiet but firm hug and then unceremoniously yanked his sister off of my neck. “Father needs rest,” he hissed quietly and continued dragging Suzy toward the kitchen where Lash was cooking something on the cast iron stove.

 

Suzy initially put up a fight and looked like she was going to argue, only to meekly capitulate and redirect her manic energy toward Eg, Lash, and what I strongly suspected was something approximating pancakes being fried on the stove.

 

Settling back onto the bed again, I tried taking my temperature with the back of my hand and found I was running a fever.

 

The tepid water running through our cave leached away the worst of the accumulating heat, so I decided to just bear with it and try to sleep through the worst of it.

 

A deafening roar from outside echoed down the tunnel and I had barely managed to stagger to my feet when panic flooded through my connection with Kwan into my mind. “DANGER! FLEE! HIDE!” Kwan shrieked.

 

“Snake!” Suzy cried excitedly and splashed across the kitchen with her arms wide.

 

Eg let out a yelp in surprise, diving for cover behind Lash.

 

Pete briefly looked up from the book he was reading at the table and then continued reading.

 

<HIDE!> Kwan repeated, suddenly appearing on the far side of the kitchen from the direction of the tunnel to the surface and bounding through the kitchen’s knee-deep water in a panic. With Suzy trailing right behind him, Kwan leapt up and onto the bed and then wormed himself into the gap between my back and the moss that served as my mattress. <Protect!> The terrified serpent demanded, only marginally less terrified than a few moments prior.

 

Mind dulled by pain and fever, I splashed my face with water so I could try to focus. Thinking things over, and ignoring Kwan’s renewed pleas for help as Suzy began to give chase, I realised Ushu must have driven Kwan out of the lake.

 

“Suzy...Sweety, please stop chasing Kwan,” I pleaded while massaging my temple to try and relieve the tension.

 

“Hrm, okay,” Suzy agreed happily. Then she frowned and scratched her head in confusion. “Who Kwan?”

 

Grunting quietly from the pain, I reached behind my back and took a firm hold of Kwan’s tail then dragged him out into the open. “This is Kwan,” I explained, keeping a firm hold to stop the serpent from squirming away.

 

“Ooooh...” Suzy nodded in understanding and then frowned with disappointment. “Kwan no play?” She asked.

 

Kwan bared his teeth and hissed in a vain attempt to intimidate Suzy while trying to back away.

 

“No...” I sighed and kneaded my forehead to try and take the edge off my headache. Feeling guilty, I came up with an alternative. “But you can feed him if you want?”

 

Suzy’s lips parted into a wide toothy smile. “Okay!” She agreed happily, bobbing up and down in her excitement.

 

Pete looked up from his book. Expecting him to join Suzy, I was surprised when he exercised his authority to conjure a large clay pot at Suzy’s side instead and then continue reading his book.

 

Suzy grinned back at Pete and then pulled the lid off the pot.

 

Kwan stopped hissing and curiously tasted the air with his tongue. <Food?>

 

Suzy shoved her fist into the pot and drew out a fistful of shredded roast meat. “Eat!” She commanded, throwing the meat into the air.

 

Lash sighed with a bemused smile on her lips and shook her head as meat scraps were scattered roundabout our bedroom.

 

Abandoning his pride and fear, Kwan dove toward the closest scraps and scarfed them down, much to Suzy’s enjoyment.

 

Suzy’s cackling and giggling made it difficult to try and get back to sleep. But at a certain point, the exhaustion proved too much to handle.

 

Slipping into oblivion, I was reminded of my repeated promises to protect my family at any cost. Despite the anguish I felt over the revelation regarding my true character, I realised that, in a fucked up way, it might have been to my benefit. I wasn’t the man I had thought I was. I had no more excuses.