Divine Apostasy Book 11 - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Ruin dismissed his armor but remained in the Destruction Realm. He’d finally found Sift in the alchemy camp practicing his Steps. Sift had made it difficult because he’d stored his shadow in one of the artifacts from the Bamboo Viper Step Clan. Ruin weighed the pros and cons of harassing Sift from the thousands of small shadows that covered the ground.

In the end, Ruin decided getting Sift riled up would only make getting the answers Ruin needed tougher. He exited a shadow cast by a nearby building and sat against the structure as he observed his best friend.

Sift had always made the Bamboo Viper Step forms look unnaturally magnificent. Ruin had only recently tapped into the source of that power and knew he now matched Sift’s display of perfected movement.

“How long have you been sitting there?” Sift asked, without interrupting the flow of his Steps.

Sift’s Perception surprised Ruin. He’d made no sound transitioning between Realms and sat in a shadow mostly invisible. That Sift detected him within seconds was truly impressive.

“I don’t know. Like an hour.”

“Liar.”

“Why are you favoring your right foot?”

Sift uttered a string of curses which contained a lot of references to Ruin. After a vicious sequence of strikes, Sift transitioned into Bamboo forms to bleed the energy the Viper forms saturated his muscles with. “Why am I favoring my right foot he asks,” Sift muttered. His concentration finally broke, and with a large sigh, he strode over to Ruin.

Sift plopped down, sitting cross-legged to mirror Ruin.

“Sorry to mess up your training,” Ruin said.

“Oh, you’ll be sorry. You know what your girlfriend and my alleged girlfriend did to me all night?”

Ruin raised his eyebrows.

Sift laughed. “I wouldn’t survive that.” He pointed at Ruin’s head. “Did a clump of dirt get lodged up there when that body formed?”

“Maybe. Technically there’s whole planets of dirt in there.”

“That explains a lot. Your head is mostly filled with rocks.”

“I guess that’s true. Now why are you favoring your right foot?”

Sift leaned closer to Ruin. “Because those witches have been reading a book you gave them and sticking me with needles. Tons of them. Then asking me how I feel or if anything seems different. I’m favoring my right foot because I finally escaped while your girlfriend’s Mana regenerated from all the healing she cast on me. I hate you.”

Ruin winced. “I sure hope they figure that out before I get back.”

Sift smiled wickedly. “Oh yeah, just so you have something to look forward to. Blapy taught Hamma how to soften Divine skin enough to insert these torture needles. Hamma melted three stones before Blapy told her she’d learn quicker on you.”

“That’s a lie,” Ruin said, as he worked to suppress his worry.

Sift leaned back. “The only thing worse than being stuck like a pincushion is getting your skin melted first.”

Ruin studied Sift, trying to determine if his friend was lying, but Sift’s Step training had given him complete control over his body, including the micro gestures that made reading normal people easy.

“You don’t believe me?” Sift asked.

Sift took in a breath to yell.

Ruin waved his hands. “Stop. I don’t have time to get my skin melted right now. I just came here for a quick talk.”

Ruin readied himself to tackle Sift if his friend tried to summon Hamma or Lylan.

“Talk about what?” Sift asked.

“The Destruction Realm has these five towers and I’m guessing the Creation Realm has five as well. I want to talk with Io about them.”

“Sounds, important. What’s it worth to you?”

“Seriously, you’re extorting me now?”

Sift looked confused.

“It’s a real word,” Ruin said. “It means screwing me over for your own gain.”

“Oh, I like that word. Yes, I’m extorting you. And don’t forget to factor in my pain and suffering.”

“What about my pain and suffering?”

“Even Blapy looked uncomfortable watching Hamma melt those rocks. Imagine your pain and suffering after I call her.”

“You’re lying.”

Sift looked thoughtful. “You know what they say about Healers. People who enjoy being around suffering. Breaking bones. Melting skin.”

“Stop it with the melting!” Ruin hissed. “Fine.” He removed the Storm Chaser stud from his ear and held it out to Sift.

Sift took it and studied the diamond. “Is that lightning in there?”

“Yes, it has two buffs you can switch between. Forked Lighting is a distance attack that triggers every so often and chains its damage to nearby enemies. The other is called Sheet Lightning, and it covers your skin with energy that damages any melee that get near you.”

Sift equipped the earring and a moment later lighting crawled over his skin. He reached out and placed a hand over Ruin’s arm, careful not to touch him and get dissolved by Destruction Essence.

The lightning crackled and arced over Ruin’s arm. While it didn’t hurt, it itched, and he slapped at Sift’s hand.

Sift yanked his hand back and smiled. “Lylan will love it. Okay, I’m done extorting.”

Reaching behind him, Sift removed Io from a hidden sheath.

“You had him this whole time,” Ruin stated the obvious. “Why didn’t you just bring him out to begin with? And why are you suddenly taking stuff.”

Sift never wanted to take anything, but he hadn’t so much as paused to think about taking the earring.

“I’m a pirate. Ranging the sea in search of treasure for my hydra queen.”

“In search of treasure?”

“Headless Pete has a treasure map.”

“He also carries his head around like a watermelon.”

Sift pointed at Ruin. “Don’t judge. He knew more about turtles than you did so forgive me if I trust him about the map.”

“I have treasure maps,” Io said as Sift placed him on the ground.

“Seriously?” Sift asked Io. “We should use them.”

“You’re more confusing than usual,” Ruin said, “and that is saying something.”

“Why? Because I want to explore? Lylan said we’ll be gods soon. I need to take advantage of my carefree days before all my responsibilities arrive.”

“What responsibilities?”

“I need to provide for my people.”

Ruin pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know I’m going to regret asking this. What people?”

Sift leaned forward. “Pastry people of course. Hamma says my love of sweets is a…” he paused a moment as if trying to remember her words. “Manifestation of the joy that anchors me to the present. She said I’ll be a popular deity with a powerful message.”

“Pastry people?”

“Pastry people,” Sift said with a grin. “I’m going to make it rain cupcakes and snow frosting.”

“That sounds messy and sticky.”

Sift pointed at Ruin. “That’s because you’re not a pastry person.” His face grew serious. “Hamma says I’m sunlight, laughter, and the smell of baking bread. You though…you’re a tempest, the drumbeat to war, a shield defending the last bridge.”

Io spoke up. “Don’t forget a lost path, the shepherd of darkness, and chaotic harmony.”

Sift nodded. “Yeah, Hamma has a lot of names for you. She said we’re all blindly running through a field toward a cliff, and the only person there to catch us is you.” Sift paused. “Anyway, that’s why you don’t understand pastries. You can’t. If you did, someone might get past you and go over that cliff.”

Ruin didn’t respond. He took Hamma’s descriptions very seriously. She had tapped into a magic he found difficult to understand, and her insight imparted a deeper and more consequential view of the universe than he possessed.

Ruin gave Sift a nod. “Hamma’s right, you’ll make a fantastic god.”

Hamma had made Ruin out to be a savior, but he didn’t think of himself like that. The obligation and burden of the fourth secret weighed on him, and he desperately wanted to return all the Spirit trapped in Pen’s Divine Realm back to the Universe. But that wasn’t the same as saving people. Plenty of people in the Universe had lived happy lives never having access to magic.

Gaining the skills and abilities necessary to fulfill the Fourth Secret brought many complications. His current Saraph body was a prime example of that. But he knew the goal was near. Soon the Fourth Secret would only represent a bad poem, and he could finally eat some cupcakes.