Chapter 753 - Know Thy Enemy

Unsurprisingly, the City Registrar was located on the first tier.  Though Zeke did note that its surroundings were much better maintained and far cleaner than the rest of the tier.  It also played host to a great many guards, all of which sported the sunburst badge signifying allegiance to the Temple of the Sun. 

Every time Zeke looked upon one of those badges, he wanted to destroy its wearer.  While the individual guards might not have been terrible people, their organization stood for principles Zeke could never sanction.  He’d fought against the Radiant Host too often to think otherwise.

After all, Shar Maelaine’s worshippers in the Eternal Realm made no secret of their adherence to slavery and human superiority.  An odd thing, considering that Zeke felt certain that the Sun Goddess herself had not begun her life as a human. 

Either way, her people had committed so many atrocities that crossed every one of Zeke’s lines.  It was one thing to kill people.  He’d slain more innocents than most people had enemies.  But ending someone’s life was far from the worst thing someone could do.  Enslaving them represented something far crueler.  Sure, they continued to draw breath – and all that entailed – but without freedom, what did it matter? 

And worst of all, the form of slavery practiced by the Radiant Host was a hopeless one.  There was no chance of breaking the chains.  No hope for a better life.  Just constant misery, and for everyone involved.  The same would be true for future generations. 

That seemed worse to Zeke.  He’d take a quick death – or even a torturous one – over enslavement, and without a moment’s hesitation.

As far as he could tell, slavery wasn’t part of the Temple of the Sun’s doctrine, but Zeke hadn’t seen enough to be sure.  What he did know was that as long as they followed Shar Maelaine, anything was possible.  So long as it improved her standing, she would sanction any tactic.

Was Zeke hypocritical for holding her to such standards?  Maybe.  He didn’t fancy himself some great hero.  Nor was he a bastion of justice or morality.  He was, by anyone’s measure, a monster.  But he was a monster with a purpose that went beyond his own life or desires.  He wanted to save reality, and everything he’d done had been in service of that goal.  By contrast, Shar Maelaine only cared about power for its own sake.  She only wanted to lord her strength over everyone else.

And Zeke couldn’t abide that.  Not when he knew precisely how much good she could have done, had she only ascended to assist the Creator in his eternal battle against the eldritch adversaries threatening the very fabric of the Framework. 

She hadn’t done that, and so, Zeke had no respect for her. 

Those thoughts accompanied Zeke as he traversed the first tier, circling around until they reached the City Registrar.  The building itself was impressively functional.  They’d paid nominal attention to beauty, but neither the architecture nor the decorative details crossed into gaudy territory. 

“Impressive, isn’t it?” asked the guard.  “This is one of the few remaining buildings from the ancestors.  Legend has it that it was under the protection of some sort of enchantment that protected it from the creep of nature.”

Zeke nodded.  The building looked vaguely familiar, but it had been so long since he’d been in the Mortal Realm that he couldn’t be certain that he’d seen it before.  In any case, it wasn’t as if he’d spent much time in Beacon.  In the grand scheme of things, it had been little more than a pit stop, albeit a memorable one. 

Still, he could believe that it was a remnant of the old city.  Once the zombies had destroyed all life on the island continent, nature had reclaimed its cities.  Vines had torn down buildings, even as structural enchantments failed and the earth collapsed beneath them.  By the time Phoenix Reach had been founded, very little – aside from the tiered structure – remained of Beacon. 

Of course, that had predated even Beacon’s founding.

Zeke had once spent quite a lot of time in the sewers beneath the city, which had obviously been built by non-human hands.  What’s more, he’d visited the remnants of an elven city not long after escaping the troll tunnels, proving that other races had come before the tide of humanity swept through the Radiant Isles.

Structurally, the building looked a bit like the neoclassical buildings popularized by American government buildings, but there were enough disparate details that made it look like something new.  Or old, Zeke realized. 

“Very much so,” he said, not really meaning. After everything else he’d seen, how could he get excited about something so mundane.  It couldn’t even compare to his recent visits to Talia’s and Pudge’s domains, much less the fantastical structures he’d seen during his trip through Hell.  Or even in the Eternal Realm. 

Not that it mattered. 

He wasn’t there to evaluate architecture.  Instead, he was there to get information so he could hopefully avoid laying waste to the entire city.  And the continent.  Though everything he’d seen so far suggested that might be where his foray into the Mortal Realm was headed.  Worship for Shar Maelaine had been so indelibly woven into their society that it might not be possible to simply excise the rot. 

But he withheld judgement, perhaps due to false hope.

The guard led him into the building, the interior of which perfectly matched the exterior.  Patterned tiles covered the floor with a potent enchantment, while thin columns lined the lobby.  Well-armored guards stood sentry on either side of the door – inside and out – while immaculately dressed government officials mingled with white-robed clergy.  Zeke didn’t miss that many of the latter wore copious amounts of gold, and in his mind, it was proof of their corruption.

After all, gold was still valuable in the Mortal Realm.  In fact, their monetary system depended on it and other precious metals like silver and platinum, with copper making up the bulk of their day-to-day coin usage.  If they’d wasted so much wealth on mere jewelry – especially for an organization that professed a desire to help the downtrodden – it did not bode well for their honesty.

Zeke was also concerned with their presence within a secular operation.  Were they simply there as liaisons?  Or did they have a hand in governing the city?  The answers to those questions weren’t readily apparent, so the only solution was to go through the process. 

Provided it didn’t become too invasive.  If they dug too deep, they would find more than they bargained for.  He didn’t think they could see past the anonymity provided by his lattice, but he wasn’t so hubristic as to believe he knew everything.  After all, he’d created it only recently, and though he understood it on a fundamental level, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be surprised.

Especially where the Framework was concerned.

It was a creation far more complex than anything he could truly comprehend – the product of eons of study.  And despite spending a few thousand years developing his own ability to manipulate the threads of reality, Zeke knew he had a long, long way to go before he could rival the Creator’s talents.

In any case, he followed the guard through the lobby, the echo of his footsteps loud in the expansive space.  The moment he truly entered, every eye within the building turned in his direction.  He could practically feel dozens of instances of inspection skills activating. 

They wouldn’t get any results.

Which prompted a question that he directed at the guard.  “What do you see when you inspect me?” Zeke asked.

“You’re assuming I did?  Seems a bit rude.”

“I know you did.  What do you see?” Zeke asked, his tone still good-natured.  He wouldn’t go in the other direction unless absolutely forced.

“Question marks.”

“You don’t seem too upset by that.”

“Should I be?” the man asked, flicking his eyes in Zeke’s direction. 

“That depends on if you intend me harm,” Zeke answered as honestly as possible.  Of course, things would change drastically if he got the information he expected he’d find while in Phoenix Reach.

“Then we should be fine.  I’ve seen quite a few people with skills meant to protect their identity,” he said.  “We don’t find it too troubling.”

Zeke nodded in understanding.  The implications of that statement told him everything he needed to know about how powerful the Temple of the Sun – or the city’s government – thought they were.  The reality was that it didn’t matter what level someone was.  They didn’t pose much of a threat to the city as a whole.  Following from that was the notion that they had plenty of max-level guards. 

For all Zeke knew, his escort was one of them. 

Not that it mattered.  Zeke was so far above them that even if they had every advantage, they couldn’t even scratch his skin.  No one in the Mortal Realm posed even the slightest threat to him.

Which he found incredibly boring.  For a man who’d lived most of his life going from one battle to another, the idea of an unchallenged existence just felt so pedestrian.  It was like playing a video game on easy-mode. Winning would be entirely devoid of any sense of accomplishment.

They approached a series of windows on the left side of the lobby.  Despite featuring quite a lot of marble, they reminded Zeke of nothing so much as tellers in an upscale bank.  The woman on the other side of the glass, which was enchanted for extreme durability, looked the part as well.  Her hair stood in a tight bun, and her face held that acerbic quality of a no-nonsense career woman. 

“What do you want Captain Leonard?” she asked, fixing the guard with a glare.  So, he was a captain?  That should have been surprising, given the marks of rank on his shoulders, but Zeke hadn’t really considered what they signified.

“A new prospective citizen!” he declared in a boastful voice.

“I hope this isn’t like the last one.”

“That was just…that was an honest mistake.  I had no idea he was a brigand!” the man claimed with characteristic gusto. 

“We’ll see.”

Then, the woman’s eyes flicked toward Zeke.  She looked him up and down, then asked, “Name?”

“Ezekiel.”

“Do you have a surname?”

Zeke frowned.  It had been so long since he’d lived in the Mortal Realm, but there was a chance he might be recognized.  So, a pseudonym was in order.  He chose his mother’s maiden name and said, “Locke.”

“Ezekiel Locke,” she said, grabbing a pen from a nearby container.  She wrote something on the pad in front of her.  It glowed with mana, though Zeke had no idea what its purpose might be.  “Do you have any skills to declare?”

“What do you mean?”

“You want to tell them about forbidden skills.  They’re not outright illegal,” the guard helpfully explained.  “But the government likes to keep track of them.  Just in case.”

“What kind of skills are forbidden?”

Zeke technically didn’t even use skills anymore, and he certainly wouldn’t unravel his lattice so he could replicate them by manipulating the threads.  Doing so would destroy the entire realm. 

“Mind control is the big one.  They also like to know about healing skills,” he said. “Just because they can be useful.  Using beneficial abilities in service of the people is a well-paying gig, if you can get it.  Though you don’t look much like a healer.”

“I’m not.”

The clerk, clearly tiring of the exchange, repeated her question.  Zeke answered, “Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary.  I don’t have any outward skills.  Just a few passive empowering abilities.  You know, ones that make me stronger and faster – that kind of thing.”

“I see,” she said, marking up the form.  Then, her eyes flashed, and she asked, “Is one of those passive abilities meant to protect your identity?”

“Secondary effect,” he said before explaining that it was a compound skill that was primarily used to enhance his speed.  He shrugged.  “Didn’t really think that one through before I took it.”

“Clearly,” she said. 

Then, she went on to ask a bunch of other questions, which mostly centered on Zeke’s origin.  He answered them mostly truthfully, trusting that his true story wouldn’t raise any eyebrows.  He downplayed the danger involved, though, and claimed to mostly be based in a small town out in the desert.  Miraculously, it was still called Jariq, though it wasn’t the massive city it had once been.  Instead, the settlement was barely large enough to sustain itself. 

That also explained why he was ignorant of the rules within Phoenix Reach. 

Finally, she said, “I can approve your citizenship, pending payment of your fees.  Once you have proven your worth, we will affix you with a brand.”

Zeke frowned.  He’d expected the fee, as well as the necessity to prove that joining citizenry would benefit Phoenix Reach – and the Temple of the Sun.  What he hadn’t expected was that they would try to brand him. 

But that was a problem for another day.  So, he said, “Sounds good to me.”

With any luck, he’d discover all he needed to know before he took any further steps toward citizenship.