As the god's life fled him, a navy blue blast of power rocked through me. I was momentarily stunned as the deadly energy tore through me, eating at my flesh and forcing my muscles to convulse. I could feel several minutes pass as I tried and failed to control my body, and with each second that passed I expected to feel the pain of Izaiah's blade slice through me. But it never came. The painful energy simply faded, and as my eyes began to work again they witnessed a beautiful sight; a large, undulating mass of golden liquid floated before me. It radiated power unlike anything I had ever felt.
"Pure ichor is always a sight to behold. Go, collect your prize."
Doing as Dark Shard urged me to, I floated over to the ichor. As I drew closer, the liquid came to me as if drawn in by a magnet. It swirled around me, leaving a pleasantly cool sensation and a metallic sheen on my skin as it was slowly absorbed into my body and mind.
"Holy fuck!" I howled as new power shot into me. It felt like hooking myself directly to a car battery, leaving me jittery and, well, electrified. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the feeling faded as the ichor settled down.
"You may have collected his ichor, but Izaiah is not dead, Donovan. He will eventually be back to kill you once and for all. He has ruled this planet for several centuries, but your existence has thrown his claims into question. The thought of losing Irunthia threw him into a violent rage, ruining his ability to reason. If he had possessed a level head, you likely would have lost that battle."
"Thanks for the enlightening speech." I monotoned. It was hard to focus on Dark Shard's negativity when I had so much power to play with. If my mental capacity hadn't been expanded with my power, I knew that my ascension would have been too much for my brain to take. As it was, the only thing curbing my excitement was the overwhelming shadow of Niko's existence.
Before the gravity of my situation could drag me down, I decided to head back to the Clearing instead of cultivating any ichor. Given the amount that I had just absorbed from Izaiah, I figured I could put it off for now. I knew I was procrastinating, but that had never stopped me from ignoring my problems in the past.
Austin greeted me with a wave from atop the wall as I passed through the gate. The ex-soldier struck an imposing figure atop the wall. With my blessing of Destructive power his skin had faded to a dark, ashy grey, but his eyes shone with a faint golden light from the ichor mingling with his blood. He had grown almost an entire foot taller, and had exchanged his old weaponry for a massive, two-handed zweihander.
As I walked, an idea suddenly came to me. "Hey Dark Shard, you know quite a bit about space and whatnot, right?" I asked, hoping for but not really expecting a positive response.
"Yes, I retain much of the basic knowledge that I had as a whole, but most of my memories are little more than distant blurs. Why do you ask?"
"Honestly? I'm homesick. I miss my family, and old friends. Before, I never had the power to go back to them. But now, if Earth isn't too far away, could I make it back? I know I won't be able to stay, but..."
"I understand, but you can't. If they know you still live, they'll ask questions. And what are you supposed to tell them? The truth? A lie? Either way you look at it, that doesn't end well. Besides, you've been gone for almost three years now. Going back would only reopen old wounds. Of course, that's just my opinion. In the end, you are my master; if you choose to return, I cannot stop you."
"I- I hadn't thought about that. Thank you." I said. Something warm and wet ran down my face, and it was only when the salty tear ran across my lips that I realized I was crying. The brief hope that I had clung to was shattered, bringing forth a wave sadness that I hadn't even known was there.
"Get me away from here." I said, trying and failing to hold back a sob, "I don't care where." My voice rose as I talked, until I was almost shouting.
"Please Donovan, I don't think-"
"I don't care what you think!" I yelled, causing the Izveir around me to shrink back in surprise. They knew about the Shards, but watching the person you literally hail as a deity have a mental breakdown would be unsettling for anybody.
"As you wish, sire."
My vision flashed white, then black, and I felt myself slam heavily into the ground. I tried to move, but my body wouldn't respond. Something large and furry rolled over my body. The fur was soft, but I could feel an underlying rigidity that felt like solid stone. The whole thing felt strangely familiar...
Wait! I knew exactly where I was. This was the room where I found Shard- or, at least I thought it was. It was kind of hard to tell without being able to see. Knowing that I wasn't in any danger, I began to relax. Before long, the strangely hairy stone spider rolled off of me and rejoined the rest of the pile of mysterious creatures. As soon as the pressure of his body left my chest, I could move and see again. But that wasn't right, was it? Last time I was here, I had never been blind. Maybe deities were more susceptible to them? It would make sense, given how precious an item they were supposed to guard.
Either way, the little thing had no problem incapacitating me. No wonder Niko wasn't able to take the Shard of Creation by force. "Hey, can you guys talk?" I asked aloud, not really expecting an answer. Sadness still lingered at the back of my mind, but something about this place repressed the emotion.
To my surprise (and only mild disgust) one of the creatures rolled down from its perch atop the pile, extending eight long, hairy legs as it descended. Mandibles took shape seemingly from nowhere, clicking audibly as the creature began to speak.
"Yes, we can talk." Its voice, a horrible sound if there ever was one, croaked out. "For obvious reasons, though, we prefer not to. Alas, the passing of time has brought upon us dire circumstances. With the Rampant God on the loose, we live in times as dangerous as any of us can remember... And our memories are long indeed. But you have not come to hear of the tribulations ahead , have you?"
"I-" I hesitated, not really sure what to make of the thing's speech. In the end, I opted for the safe, easy option. "What exactly are you? We've met before, but never properly." I said, trying and failing to ignore what the thing had said about the Rampant God. I assumed it was Niko, but didn't want to dwell on it too deeply.
The spider made a sound that I assumed was laughter, if laughter was a noise created solely to induce nightmares in small children. "I suppose one as young as yourself would not have heard of us. Of course, our names are not as widely spoken as they once were. We have... fallen from grace, so to speak. But I digress.
"We, as a whole, were known as the Faithful. Now, we are nameless. Forgotten. Our sacred duty has long since been revoked, but we still perform our duties without complaint. As far as I am aware, there are only a finite number of us. We do not reproduce, and none that I have spoken to know of our origins. We simply are." The spider croaked. It made to continue, then seemed to rethink what it was about to say. "That is enough about us. Please, tell me of yourself."
"That was... vague. I do not have any memory of the Faithful, though some of my other fragments may."
Damn. If not even Dark Shard knew about these guys, they were a serious mystery. That being said, I couldn't really just ignore them. I did kind of owe them my life, so the the least I could do is tell them my story.
"Well," I began, "it all started with something called a video game..."
Over the course of the next few hours, I relayed the past few years of my life to the creature and his (Its?) friends, who were undoubtedly listening in. It was astonishing how well I could recall even the most minor memories, with sights and sounds and smells springing forward as if I were reliving the moment. One of the many perks of godhood, I suppose, but not all of my memories were good ones.
There were three moments in particular that made my knees nearly buckle at the mere memory; my first true death in the underworld, the excruciating pain of bonding with Shard for the first time, and the unholy portal used to transport myself to Niko's lair.
Talking with the Faithful spiders helped, though. I
don't know if it was some power of theirs or just being able to finally get it off of my chest, but as I went through the rollercoaster that had become my life, I felt my apprehension and sadness begin to fade away. Looking back, I was almost impressed with how well I had come out the other end of my little adventure.
After the retelling of my tale, one of the Faithful brought me to a side room. It was sparsely decorated, with nothing more than a bed, chair and desk, but the walls emanated a strangely calming aura. It had a sense of... home, of security that I realized I had missed out on over the past few years. Sometime along the way I had turned eighteen, and if what Dark Shard said was true, I would be nineteen before too long. Back home, I'd probably be in college right now. None of that mattered anymore though, did it?
The Faithful left, scuttling away on silent legs. Now alone, I sat on the edge of the bed. It was soft, but just firm enough to comfortably support me. I had obviously been expected here, but why? How? I filed the questions to the back of my mind for later. Despite collecting his ichor, I was bone tired after the fight with Izaiah and sleep welcomed me with open arms. As I drifted off to sleep, visions of Niko and the travesties he had caused flitted through my mind. Above it all, a single word came to mind.
Retribution.
Lord of Creation Page 24
