Chapter 717 - Confrontation

“Aja,” he said, turning to face the woman.  She’d once again changed her appearance, this time to emulate an elf.  However, thin vines encircled her arms and legs, and a flower lay nestled amongst her hair.  “That’s a good look for you.  Very Poison Ivy.”

She blinked in confusion, taken completely off-guard.  “What?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.  “Poison ivy?”

“It’s a thing where I’m from.  Femme fatale who uses plant pheromones to manipulate people into doing what she wants.  Mostly men,” Zeke explained. “Not that that’s important.  What do you want?”

“I believe you know perfectly well what I want.”

“Maybe I want to hear you say it.”

As the two spoke, the street cleared.  Most of the people there were natives of the Ethereal Realm, which meant that the majority of them hadn’t even attained divinity.  They wanted nothing to do with a conflict between a what they considered a pair of powerful deities.  Even the lesser gods vacated the premises in a hurry. 

“Your armies are slaughtering my people!” she growled, the vines twisting around her.  Otherwise, she wore a simple bodysuit – green, of course – which just solidified the image in his mind.  Was it intentional?  Probably not.  But the similarities were uncanny.  “Call them off.  Now.”

“No.”

“What?”

“I’m guessing you don’t hear that often,” Zeke went on.  “I get it.  You’re a big, bad god, and nobody ever tells you no.  I sometimes have to deal with that myself.  But the answer remains the same, whether you want to accept it or not.”

She moved like lightning, but Zeke was ready for her.  So, when she got close enough to strike him, she only got one attack in before Zeke’s hand closed around her throat.  The damage – which was extensive – was repaired by a quick pulse of [Hand of Creation].  Even as the hunk of flesh regrow on his torso, Zeke admonished, “Seriously?  You attack me here?  Can’t imagine the…ah…proprietor of this place would appreciate that much.”

Aja didn’t respond.  Instead, she clawed at his arm, dragging deep gashes in his flesh.  She also kicked and grunted while her vines sprang to life, wrapping around his neck and suffocating him. 

He endured it with equanimity.  With [Hand of Creation] flowing through him, he could take that and much, much more.  He’d yet to find something that could overcome the skill’s regenerative properties. 

“Are you done?” he asked.  “I won’t release you if you’re just going to keep attacking.”

Her eyes bulged, and the assault continued – right up until the Waymaster made an appearance via one of his drones. 

“You will cease all hostilities at once,” he intoned, his voice expressionless. 

Zeke immediately released the tree goddess, though he didn’t relax.  She was a greater god, and as such, underestimating her was a good way to be obliterated.  Certainly, she hadn’t shown the full breadth of her power.  If she had, things would have gotten very bad, very quickly.  If the platform upon which the town had been built managed to survive, it would have been a miracle.

That led Zeke to believe that her actions were performative.  She’d never intended to hurt him.  Not with those weak attempts at an attack.  So, what was her goal?  Why had she come to confront him?  Those questions plagued him as she massaged her thin neck. 

“I’d like to point out that I very much did not start this,” Zeke said, spreading his arms.  “I’m just minding my own business, and –”

“You started it when you directed your army to slaughter innocent people!” Aja shouted, looking as if she was about to once again launch herself at him.  “After everything I did for you…you ungrateful cretin!”

“You didn’t do anything for me.  You did it for yourself,” he said, referring to the quest she’d given him to upgrade his race back in the Mortal Realm.  At the time, he’d thought she had bestowed it upon him out of the goodness of her heart, but now, he understood things a little better.  She’d hoped to gain a powerful follower out of it.  That plan hinged on him taking a more reasonable approach to ascension, which would have meant that Oberon would have been killed in the interim.  That would have left Zeke without a patron, and who better to fill that role than the benevolent tree goddess who’d already helped him? 

He didn’t point that out though.  She would have just denied it.  And besides, she knew precisely what she’d done. 

“And that gives you the right to slaughter my worshippers?”

Zeke shrugged.  “No.  But it certainly doesn’t protect them.  I’ll make you a deal, though.  Give yourself up.  Just you.  And the war stops,” Zeke offered.  “My armies will leave your people alone.”

“What?  Why would I do that?”

“It’s a simple concept.  Sacrifice.  Would you give your life to protect them?  Do you do anything for them?  Do you empower them?  What would you give to save them?” he asked. 

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“See, that’s where you lose me.  I get being concerned for your people.  Really, I do.  But the second you refuse to sacrifice for them, I stop considering your indignation genuine,” he said.  “The bottom line is this – I’m trying to save reality.  You’re not standing in my way, but you are a stepping stone to getting where I need to go.  So, even if you think I’m a monster, I’m going to kill you.  Oda, too.  Then, I’m going after Shar Maelaine.”

“You will throw the entire realm into chaos.”

“It’s necessary.”

“What if I helped you against the Sun Goddess?  She is –”

“No, thanks.  I can handle it on my own.”

She just stared at him like he’d gone insane. Perhaps he had.  Logic told him that he should have concealed his plans.  Perhaps played it like he was considering her offer.  But the fact was that he just didn’t have patience for deception.  He’d always been a straightforward sort of person, and win or lose, that wasn’t going to change. 

“This is unnecessary!” she insisted.  “You needn’t –”

“No.  It is more than necessary.  You and the others, you just sit here in this realm, perpetually gathering power.  Meanwhile, our reality is unfolding.  Have you been the void, Aja?  Have you seen the threads?” he demanded, shoving his finger in her face.

“I…”

“No.  You haven’t.  I know you haven’t, because if you had, you would have ascended to The End and fought alongside the Creator.  Instead,  you stayed behind – a big fish in a little pond.  I won’t do that.  I refuse.  I’ve seen our fate, and I won’t stand idly by while our reality unravels,” Zeke spat.  Then, he pointed at the drone, which had been idle since issuing its warning.  “Ask him.  He’ll tell you what’s at stake here, and he’ll tell you why it has to be me.”

“This is madness.  Even if it is as you say, we are eons away from destruction.”

Zeke shook his head.  “And what do you think will change between now and then?” he asked.  “Nothing.  There is no reason to wait.  No point in delay.  This is going to happen, whether you like it or not.  So, you’d better get your affairs in order, because I’m coming for you.  You’ll soon be dead.”

Then, he added, “Or you can simply ascend.  Leave this plane and go to the next.  I’ll stop killing your elves.  I could use your power, but…well, I can do without it, too.”

That wasn’t really true, but he knew Aja would never take him up on the offer.  Just as hers had been performative, so was his statement.  But she didn’t need to know that.  For all she knew, he was being genuine.

“You are mad.”

“Maybe,” Zeke acknowledged.  “But I’m a madman with the power to kill you.  So, go back to your domain.  Make your preparations.  Build your defenses.  Because I’m coming, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Her features went slack, and Zeke was struck by  how much her resting expression suggested displeasure.  Perhaps that was just her default state, and everything else was just a show.  That fit with his impression of Aja, though he had to admit that it was probably an unfair assessment.  He didn’t really know her, and his brief interactions with her could be counted on one hand. 

“You will regret this,” she stated evenly, all histrionics abandoned.  “Just before you take your final breath, you will know your error.  Even as you are choked by vines, constricted by roots and impaled by branches, you will understand just how much you overestimated your abilities.  Remember – you could have had peace.  We could have coexisted, and our respective peoples would have benefited greatly.  You would have grown stronger at a reasonable pace.  No longer is that a possibility.  You have picked a fight you cannot hope to win.”

With that, she wheeled on her heel and stalked away.  As she did so, her form morphed and twisted until she looked more tree than humanoid woman.  And then she disappeared around a corner.  Zeke knew that the next time he saw her, it would be on the field of battle.

“I believe the appropriate term for what just happened was kicking the hornet’s nest,” said the Waymaster’s drone.  “If I had not suppressed her, she would have killed you.”

“Is she so strong?” Zeke asked.

The drone answered, “Stronger than you.”

“And yet not enough to overcome you.”

“In  my domain, I am all but omnipotent,” came the reply.  “You would do well to remember that when it comes time for our clash.  I do not plan to resist, but it is no easy thing to accept one’s death – especially after such a long life.”

“I understand.”

After that, the drone simply disappeared.  Vaguely, Zeke was aware that it had used some sort of skill, but he couldn’t really track it.  So, without any other reason to remain in the street, he headed back to the inn room where he’d been straying. 

His arrival was met with little fanfare, though that wasn’t surprising. He’d made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want any extra attention, and the innkeeper had granted that request.  He wasn’t ignored – not exactly – but he didn’t get nearly the focus he would have elsewhere. 

Soon enough, he reached the rooms he shared with Talia, though she had not returned from her so-called spa day.  So, he quickly undressed and took a shower.  The bathroom was much like the rest of the room – luxuriously appointed – and it reminded him of the ultra-expensive resorts he’d seen on television back on Earth.  There were differences, largely in the décor, but the richness was similar. 

In any case, his shower ended up taking a lot longer than he’d expected, mostly because he spent much of that time lost in thought.  And for once, he didn’t focus on the ongoing war or its moral implications.  Saying it out loud had solidified his rationalization, and he was, for now, okay with the implications. 

Instead, he thought about the void.  Or more importantly, the nature of the Adversary.  It was unknowable, but that didn’t mean he found the subject less interesting.  Was it one entity with many tentacles?  Or was it a multitude of foes?  Were those strings even representative of what the thing actually was?  Or was that just how he could perceive it?

So many questions.  No answers.  Not until he returned to the Framework, and he wasn’t eager to take that leap.  Not yet.  The last time had nearly ripped his psyche into a million pieces, and while he’d grown stronger since then, he recognized that it was not enough. 

He needed more power.  Which meant, that he had no choice but to kill the other greater gods.  The unsolved mystery concerning the nature of the Adversary was at least as enticing as the notion of saving reality.  He could admit that to himself, even if he’d never say so out loud.

Eventually, he left the shower behind and headed to bed.  However, he didn’t sleep.  Rare was the night when he bothered with true rest.  He didn’t need it, and what’s more, his mind was far too active to allow for it.  So, he lay there, his thoughts racing by until, at last, Talia returned. 

And her arrival definitely provided the distraction he needed.