Havon began chanting and after a moment of hesitation, Gregory chanted along. Despite his son's bleeding onto the floor, he knew that he would not be able to convince him otherwise.

And besides, perhaps the little demon would pass out from blood loss, and he'd finally get a chance to take whatever funds he needed to start his life anew.

And so he succumbed to reciting these dark oaths. The words sounded difficult to pronounce, yet they rolled off the tongue even more naturally than English.

The more words he chanted, the warmer the occult artefact he was touching got. However, he quickly attributed that to the liquid life Havon had left on it.

The ritual took around a minute... and afterwards, it happened, just as expected-

Nothing.

*[Havon]

~How can this be? I'm sure I did everything correctly,~ Havon thought to himself, before rushing out of the pentagram towards the occult slab.

Its leather-like surface was still glossy from his blood.

~Was it not enough?~ he thought to himself, before sitting on his bed with the slab.

After some thought, he picked up the knife and stabbed deeper into his hand. This time, more blood spilt through.

~It seems that Zlexay is not content with my sacrifices,~ he thought to himself. Recalling how the people on the forums had warned him about the greedy nature of the occult god he was trying to summon.

~But I can't give up now... there's nothing for me here,~ Havon thought to himself, looking at Gregory who seemed to be patiently waiting for something to happen. No doubt for him to pass out from the blood loss.

~Then what else do you want of me? Do you want my life?~ he wondered to himself. 

Though, he knew well that this was probably the case. After all, what he was about to ask for was worth more than a single human life... or 𝘩𝘪𝘴 human life at least.

The past three years had been empty, and if not for his 'awakening' a new grasp on reality, he doubted he would still be here. All those days of careful reading, training, and scheming had been towards this.

This artefact had cost him the last of his earnings, and his Webnovel had begun to decline due to a lack of updates, so he doubted he would earn enough to make it through this month.

~No, this needs to happen,~ he thought to himself, before taking the knife and doing what had to be done.

Blood spilt quicker than before, trickling onto the occult slab which consumed it just as fast as it came.

After a moment, Havon's vision began to dim, and his head felt heavy.

~Why won't you work?~ he thought to himself in desperation. Though as he felt his energy leave his body he did not struggle. This was as good an ending as any.

However, just as he was accepting his fate, he felt a pillow come up to his face.

~This idiot,~ he thought to himself, as Gregory used his elbow to smother the pillow harder onto his face. 

Though this wasn't surprising. Despite Gregory's attempts to try and fool him, Havon knew well that the man wanted him dead. After all, this was what family was all about.

Havon used what little strength he had to drive the rusty knife in his hand into Gregory's thigh.

"You acted... too soon," Havon strained to say, as Gregory screamed on the floor in pain. His skeletal frame was no more powerful than Havon's half-dead body.

This was by no means an attempt to stop his death. He was still bleeding at an alarming rate, and his vision was growing dimmer by the second.

No, this was an attempt to have at least one of his wishes granted before he left. 

"No, please, I- I didn't mean to," Gregory stuttered, fumbling to get up to his feet. However, the wounds in his thigh were deep, and the blood that fed the floor was beginning to form a small puddle.

"Yes... I'm sure you didn't," Havon strained, before approaching him.

Gregory kicked and thrashed at the air, in an attempt to keep Havon away. Perhaps the fear that Havon had instilled in him made him act so illogically, or perhaps all that drug use had finally gotten to him.

With the practised movements of a half-dead fencing prodigy, he stumbled past Gregory's poor attempts and drove the knife into his throat.

He let out a gurgling sound, before whispering something inaudible.

Havon fell over as Gregory whispered his final words, the blood from his mouth smearing all over Havon's naked body.

~That felt... better than I had imagined,~ Havon thought to himself, his ties to this world finally severed.

*

[Well done Human, I accept your offerings.] A strange voice called out.

Havon was surrounded by an infinite expanse of darkness. An attempt to move his body quickly proved that he in fact had none. 

"So is this the afterworld?" Havon asked, not looking at anything in particular, as there was in fact nothing to look at.

[No... not yet at least.]

[Before you proceed, I shall answer your wish, human who has given me great amusement.]

Although Havon had no body, he still seemed to be processing emotions, as he felt a wave of annoyance wash over him as the strange voice spoke.

"You're Zlexay, aren't you?"

The infinite expanse shook after he asked this question, and a mass of dark energy that made the surroundings look somewhat lighter, appeared right in front of him.

[Do not dare to mention my name with that mortal soul! You are nothing more than a toy, do not overstep your bounds!]

"And so you show yourself," Havon replied, a little satisfied that he had managed to get the god worked up.

[Make your wish known so that I may send you to the afterworld.]

It seemed that it was just as Havon had suspected. The fact that Zlexay hadn't just tossed him to the afterworld despite the obvious provocation proved that he was bound by ritual to listen to his wish.

"I wish to become a god," Havon replied, and for a while there was silence.

Before Zlexay broke out into laughter. The entire void shook as he laughed, and Havon half expected it to tear apart at any moment.

[Godhood is not something that is simply given to a mortal,] Zlexay responded in a serious tone after his laughter died down.

[Still, you have asked for it, and so you shall have it,] Zlexay continued before beginning to chant. As he chanted Havon could feel his soul accelerating through the dark expanse.

[Mortals become gods after they have overcome the limitations of their souls. And so, I, Zlexay Atruanth, exile your soul to a world where human souls are continuously tested.]

[Human deluded by fantasy, you shall know true despair,] Zlexay laughed. 

A massive world adorned with twelve rings, veiled mostly in shadows revealed itself in the distance. Scattered islands of green punctuated this dark planet, like pools of life in a void.

In an instant, Havon's soul was violently cast unto this forsaken world, Zlexay's laughter lingering just until he crashed into it.

*

"Did it work?" the muffled voice slowly trickled into Havon's ears, as he felt sensation return to his body. An unbearable pain ate away at his chest, and he instinctively sat up and clenched at his heart.

"It seems it has. Another Moros has been summoned," another voice replied, this one older and more mature.

"Welcome... fodder."