The Builder's Throne

by J. A. Cipriano

  That left me with a problem. Since I couldn’t use the Well of Souls to combine any of the armaments, I was forced to choose between them.

  “Well, there’s no better time than now,” I mused, taking a seat on the ground outside the spire and dumping out the bag. It wasn’t as empty a space as I’d have liked, but at the same time, there weren’t so few people that I felt alone. I wasn’t sure why, but something about having people around, even if they were mostly going about their day was comforting.

  “Okay, what do we have here?” I spread out the armaments in the bag and smiled. Most of them didn’t actually overlap. Maybe this was going to be easier than I thought.

  Scooping up Michelle’s necklace, the Blind Vision of Justice, I glanced at its stats.

  The Restoring Path of Providence

  Type: Necklace

  Durability: 1,300

  Defense: 1D4

  Enchantments: Armament of Justice

  Ability: Recompense – Causes the user’s next attack to deal additional damage equal to all damage taken since the last attack.

  “Well, that seems pretty useful. No wonder Dred always seemed to counterattack.”

  As I slipped the necklace over my head, I recalled our first attack where Dred had let me hit him first, and I’d thrown everything I’d had at him. Then he’d counterattacked with so much strength I’d nearly died. He’d played me hook, line, and sinker. As the gilded chain settled around my neck, both it and Michelle’s mark began to glow, casting a golden light on the ground in front of me.

  The next armament, Jophiel’s Benevolent Harness of Wisdom, was a belt, and while I was wearing the Remorseless Chain of Envy, a quick look at its stats made me gasp.

  The Benevolent Harness of Wisdom

  Type: Belt

  Durability: 2,300

  Defense: 1D6

  Enchantments: Armament of Wisdom

  Ability: Weakness – Allows the user to pinpoint the enemy’s weak spot to deal double damage.

  As I held the belt in my hands, I decided it was better to look ridiculous than to be dead. So, shutting off my inner diva, I slipped the second belt around my waist and tightened it.

  Unfortunately, the last three armaments posed a problem since they occupied slots I was already using. Pants, boots, and gloves.

  Taking a quick moment, I decided to start with the boots. I grabbed Raphael’s armament and brought up the stats so I could make a better decision about what they did.

  The Restoring Path of Providence

  Type: Boot

  Durability: 3,300

  Defense: 1D10

  Enchantments: Armament of Providence

  Ability: Regeneration – grants the ability to heal from nearly any injury.

  I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. No wonder Belphegor, the Archangel of Sloth had said Dred hadn’t wanted her boots. This armament was the one that granted Dred his extraordinary healing ability, and the very one I’d been mimicking with Envy’s belt.

  This seemed like a no-brainer, but I brought up my current boots, anyway.

  The Uncaring Walk of Sloth

  Type: Boot

  Durability: 3,300

  Defense: 1D10

  Enchantments: Armament of Sloth

  Ability: Slow – grants the ability to slow enemies.

  “Okay, maybe I can just wear one of each?” I said, slipping one of my current boots off. After all, while I hadn’t used the slow ability that much, I had used it a few times. Keeping it would be ideal if I could, but if I couldn’t, that was an ability I’d gladly trade away.

  As I dropped my left boot on the ground in front of me, the Mark of Sloth emblazoned on my body faded just a bit. A quick flick of my wrist let me know that I still had the slow ability, though the random guy walking by was moving decidedly slower than he’d have probably liked.

  Satisfied it still worked, I pulled on the left boot from the pair of the Restoring Path of Providence. The second I finished, the Mark of Providence began to glow. Not as brightly as the other marks, but about as brightly as the Mark of Sloth.

  Better still, all the nicks, cuts, and burns I’d gotten since trading away the healing ability vanished. The thing was, I could tell it took twice as long as it had before.

  “Hmm… do I keep both and have each ability at half strength or use only one?” I tapped my chin. I wasn’t quite sure, but something about giving up an ability didn’t sit right with me. Sure, healing was demonstrably better than slowing my enemies, but at the same time, I had to get hit for that to matter. Maybe I should just, well, not get hit?

  Deciding to just go with it, I opted to do the same thing with the gloves. Pulling off one of the Relentless Grips of Greed, I tossed it on the ground next to Belphegor’s remaining boot. Then I picked up the left Stalwart Glove of Forgiveness.

  Stalwart Glove of Forgiveness

  Type: Gauntlet

  Durability: 2,700

  Defense: 1D8

  Enchantments: Armament of Forgiveness

  Ability: Turn the Other Cheek – Absorbs half the damage dealt to the user.

  As I stared at the new ability, I took a deep breath. That was why Dred had seemed so impossibly strong, and why he seemed to relish getting hit. In addition to healing through most attacks, most of them were hitting him at only half strength. Crazier still, Michelle’s armament, the Blind Vision of Justice, actually used what damage he did take to boost his strength.

  I swallowed and looked down at the heavenly armaments. Nearly every single one of them served to make me a stronger, more powerful warrior, and while my Hellion ones were nothing to sneeze at, most of them focused on something other than combat.

  Well, that didn’t matter now, since I had both, but still, it made me wonder why it was that way. Dismissing the thought, I turned my gaze to the last armament.

  The Bastion of Peace

  Type: Leggings

  Durability: 5,300

  Defense: 1D10

  Enchantments: Armament of Peace

  Ability: Neutral Barrier– Creates an aura around the user that doubles the strength of all defensive abilities.

  That seemed to settle it. Once again Dred’s armament served to make him even more powerful by negating damage. Neutral Barrier’s ability effectively made his healing and damage absorption twice as powerful as they normally would have been.

  That said, I kind of liked the pants I was wearing a bit better.

  The Merciless Greaves of Wrath

  Type: Leggings

  Durability: 5,300

  Defense: 1D10

  Enchantments: Armament of Wrath

  Ability: Reflection– Creates an aura around the user that reflects seven times the damage dealt to the user back to the damage dealer.

  Reflection was an ability that had been the difference between winning and losing on more than one occasion, and besides, while it’d be nice to have all my defensive abilities doubled, I could heal. Besides, we still hadn’t completed the final Heavenly achievement, Rebuild Heaven, so the abilities granted by Heaven’s armaments were only ninety percent as effective as they could be.

  “Guess this one is going back in the bag,” I said, scooping up the remaining pieces and putting them back in the sack. Then, because I wasn’t sure what to do with it, I threw it over my shoulder and went to find Michelle so I could find out the status of Heaven.

  I found her a few moments later, standing beside Lucifer near the entrance to town, and as I waved at the two women, they gave me a strange look.

  “Why are you dressed like a fool?” Lucifer asked, one perfect eyebrow arched up quizzically.

  “Well, I got all the Heavenly Armaments and couldn’t decide on some.” I opened and closed my hands, feeling the difference between the two different gauntlets. “I figured I’d just wear one of each.”

  “You’re wearing one black glove and one white glove.” Lucifer gestured at me. “What’s next, rhinestones?”

  “Um… why don’t yo
u just combine them together in the Well of Souls?” Michelle asked, her eyes sweeping over me.

  “Wait, you know where the Well of Souls is?” I asked, a spark of joy leaping through me. “I’d asked Jophiel and Raphael about it, but they didn’t know …”

  “How do you know about it?” Lucifer asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked over at her sister. “That’s supposed to be a secret.”

  “Yeah, it’s a big secret.” Michelle rolled her eyes and patted Lucifer on the shoulder.

  “No one is supposed to know about it,” Lucifer hissed, casting furtive glances at me. “That’s a private place.”

  “Look, no one is going to judge you.” Michelle gestured at me. “Especially Arthur. You should take him.”

  “Take me? Is it far?” I asked, suddenly happy. If Lucifer knew where it was and could take me there, not only could I fuse some of the armaments together, but I could combine Caliburn and Excalibur.

  “It’s deep within the heart of the jungles of Hell, where nary a man doth tread.” Michelle nodded sagely before cackling. “Isn’t that right, Lucifer?”

  “I don’t want to take you there, Arthur,” Lucifer said, ignoring her sister.

  “Um, why?” I asked, confused. “We need to go there and combine these, so I can get even stronger. Then maybe we can defeat generals One and Two and—”

  “And stop the darkness, I know.” Lucifer chewed on her lip. “Fine. We leave at sunset.”

  “Why sunset?” I asked, looking around. “Do we even have sun here?”

  “Because the Rebuilding Heaven achievement will be finished then.” Michelle gestured at Lucifer. “That’s what we were just discussing.”

  43

  Achievement: Rebuild Heaven has been completed.

  You gain 10% Legitimacy with the Heaven faction.

  As I watched the words fade away, I felt a surge of power rush through me. I now had one hundred percent legitimacy with Heaven, and as such, could fully use all my heavenly powers.

  I clenched and unclenched my hand as a feeling of raw power lit my world on fire, and to be honest, I probably would have stayed there longer, relishing the feel of it, if Lucifer hadn’t clapped me on the shoulder.

  “Let’s go.” She began striding forward once again, leaving me to stand there like an idiot on the path to the Well of Souls. We’d left shortly after “sunset” because while the Rebuild Heaven achievement had been a bit behind, after a quick discussion of timetables, Michelle assured us it would be done before we reached our destination.

  It seemed she was right.

  “You seem like you’re getting more annoyed the closer we get.”

  “You would be annoyed too if you knew where we were going.” Lucifer glared at me. “But it’s fine. You shall see for yourself. We’re not far now.” She pointed into the distance, and that’s when I saw it. A large glowing portal of green energy. It sat flush against an outcropping of rock in an otherwise nondescript stretch of wilderness, so it almost made it seem like the entrance to a cave.

  Only as I stared at the swirling void, I realized I could feel cold emanating from it in a way that reached down into my bones. It was that same cold chill of death I felt when Samael used her powers as the Archangel of Death, only multiplied by about a billion.

  “Now you see why I didn’t want to come.” She gestured at the portal.

  “It’s a bit nippy,” I said, and my words caused Lucifer to cross her arms over her ample chest before glaring at me.

  “Well, go on. I’ll wait here.” She nodded to the portal.

  “Wait, you’re not coming inside?” I asked, suddenly more than a little concerned.

  “Only one may enter, and trust me, I have absolutely no desire to go in there again.” She shook her head. “You go. I’ll wait.” She tapped her wrist thoughtfully. “I hope you come back.”

  With those cheery words rattling around in my skull, I swallowed hard, summoned my courage, and made my way forward. The closer I got, the colder the air became. The light seemed to fade from the surroundings, and the grass died away, leaving behind only mottled, blackened earth.

  Even still, I pressed on, and as I reached the portal, I peered into its swirling void. It was awash with colors and shapes that constantly shifted and changed so that it became hard to focus. Shaking off the effect, I took another deep breath and stepped through the portal.

  Cold, unlike anything I’d ever experienced, washed over me, and as a wash of color swept past my eyes, blowing across my vision like a psychedelic thunderstorm, I wanted to scream, to cry out.

  I didn’t because, by the time I realized I wanted to scream, it was over.

  The light from the portal vanished, leaving me standing alone in the large, hollowed-out cavern, and I turned in a slow circle, trying to get my bearings. The soot-stained walls felt like they were closing in on me, but other than that, I found only a path that led further into the gloom.

  As I moved toward it, the sound of water caught my ear, a faint trickle just on the edge of my hearing. Figuring it was the well, I started toward it, following the path deeper into the gloom.

  A few moments later, the path vanished into a pale stream that surged along in place of the path. Grumbling, I continued on, stepping into the stream and following it. I shivered as the cold water chilled my feet, but there was nothing for it since there was no more dry land. Just this stream that led down into the depths of this place.

  I squelched forward for another hour until I came upon a crystalline fountain. Pale water flowed from its center, splashing down over its diamond-hewn carapace and crashing to the ground in a shimmering waterfall.

  A woman stood there, leaning on the fountain and staring at me. One of her eyes was covered by a black patch, but the other pierced my heart with its baleful gaze.

  “So, you’ve awakened.” Her voice was a funeral hymn. No. That would have been too cheery. “That’s interesting.”

  “Is this the Well of Souls?” I asked, gesturing to the fountain.

  “Do you want to find out? Throw in a token and make a wish?” She waved her hand, and a black box appeared on the ground between us. It was a shabby thing, so badly splintered on one side that the battered white wood beneath showed through. She reached one pale hand into the box and withdrew a single woodchip with an ominous black dot etched in the center of the white wood.

  “Here.” She stepped forward and pressed the chip into my hand. “Pay your toll, Builder.” She gestured to the fountain.

  “Um, all right.” I stared at the woodchip in my palm as the shape of the etching upon its surface began to shift and change shapes while never quite settling on any in particular. In the end, it mostly looked like a writhing blob that reminded me of how the portal at the entrance had looked.

  “Do not be afraid, Builder,” the woman nodded at me. “If you were not meant to be here, you would not be here.”

  “I’m not afraid.” I took a step forward, and as I did, she clapped a strangely comforting hand on my shoulder.

  “Good.” She grinned. “Everyone always says death is the strongest force in the universe. They say even gods can die. Blah, blah, blah.” She shook her head, and her long silver hair fell about her like a crashing wave. “But I’ve seen gods rebuke death itself. Hell, I’ve seen mortals do it. So, how strong can it be? How strong can death really be if it can’t claim everyone? Not very, I’d wager.” This time she nodded. “So, do not fear Death, for it is the answer to the question you seek.”

  “And what question is that?” I asked, taking a deep breath and staring once more at the writhing token in my hand. Would throwing it in kill me?

  “You will know soon enough.” The lady squeezed my shoulder, and the heat from her hand spread throughout my body in a comforting wave that reached down into my bones.

  “Well, thanks, I guess.” I nodded to her and turned back to the fountain.

  “You’re welcome.” She released my shoulder, and the chill of the place swept back ove
r me and the chip in my hand pulsed. It was so cold, I could see frost spreading across my gauntlet.

  “Wow, this thing is crazy cold,” I mumbled, and the woman stared at me for a long second.

  “Is it?” As the woman spoke, a posy sprang to life in front of us. Only, it was a weird posy with green petals and a purple stem and leaves. “Would you prefer this?” She bent down and plucked the flower before offering it to me.

  “Will that make the fountain work?” I asked, suddenly confused. “Can I just throw anything in the fountain?”

  “You can throw whatever you like in the fountain. It’s just a fountain.” She tapped me on the forehead with the flower. “Or throw nothing. It is all the same to me.” She looked at me for a long time, head cocked to the side as though she had heard something she never thought she would hear. “I know this isn’t all it is cracked up to be, my dear sweet Builder, but asking all these questions won’t change anything at all.” She grinned. “That is all up to you. Only you can save us, but only if you act when the time is right.”

  “How will I know when the time is right?” I asked, wondering what she meant by that. “Because, let me just say, some precise direction would be really great.”

  She took one look at me and smiled. “I’ve been saying the same thing for a long time.” She touched her breast with one delicate finger. “So, when you figure that out, let me know.”

  As her words rang in my ears, she vanished, leaving me all alone in the cavern with the fountain. Slowly, carefully, I turned back to it, and as I did, my fingers closed around the token. Then I tossed it in the well.

  The whole of the cavern began to shake, and as I stumbled forward, fighting to keep my balance, my parents burst from the well.

  44

  “Mom? Dad?” I asked, the words barely squeaking from my lips as I took in the picture of the two people standing before me. Perhaps standing was the wrong word, since both of them were ethereal blue spirits floating just above the water in the basin of the fountain.

  “Arthur,” my mother said, reaching out toward me, and as her hand brushed against my cheek, I wanted to cry. “I’m so proud of you.”