Divine Apostasy Book 11 - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Ruin entered Last Breath and scanned the battlefield. He found his worst fears had manifested.

Minions, including the Risen Queen and Fallen Lord versions, existed in multiple locations, and Ruin didn’t know which one Overlord and Uruziel inhabited. Sivart’s Minions all looked similar and Ruin didn’t know which one contained the Narrator.

Many of these Minions were being destroyed. If Ruin chose incorrectly, he could easily lose his friends.

Even if Ruin somehow instantly killed everything on the battlefield, he couldn’t be everywhere at once to scoop up a vulnerable consciousness. Would he even be able to sense such a thing? It might already be too late. Overlord always spoke like retreating from a Minion back to Ruin’s brain happened instantaneously, but it didn’t. It took time and that meant Ruin might have killed them during their retreat.

Ruin focused on solutions, not his possible catastrophic mistake. What did his friends require? They needed a way to return to the safety of his mind without being exposed to the Destruction Realm and its corrosive environment. How did he accomplish that when he didn’t know where they were? With so many Minions in the final stages of destruction, he couldn’t reach them all instantly. Even with Last Breath and using his Will to move around the battlefield, it would take a moment at each Minon to determine if he’d found a friend. Those moments would add up quickly.

Reforming the connections to every Minion was certainly possible, and Ruin would definitely try that first, but some of the Minions looked too damaged to relink with him, which meant a terrible outcome could still result.

What Ruin really needed was a way that, regardless of the current state of their Minions, his friends could immediately latch onto the safety of his mind. He needed to create a mental boat in this chaotic ocean that they could catch and board to safety.

The idea reminded Ruin of his mental projection through the Tower roots. His mind had been vulnerable but certainly not helpless. Could he project his mind outward into the battlefield?

Instead of just a link, Ruin could send a mental boat to each Minion. That way, even if his friends had already been forced from their container a route to safety would be available.

But what if they were already damaged and didn’t possess the capacity to pull themselves to safety. What his friends needed wasn’t a boat. They needed something bigger. Something that would keep them safe regardless of their state.

In hindsight, Ruin should have considered this when these Divine beasts so easily destroyed his Minions. He’d allowed his friends to venture from the safety of his mind despite the increased danger of the environment.

Ruin’s friends needed the same thing he’d required long ago. They needed a place to stand.

An island.

Mental projection was something new to Ruin. Madda and Padda had taught him enough during the alchemy contest that he’d satisfied his Cultivation Stage quests. He’d successfully projected what they’d called his Spiritual self into a distant location and into a different Realm. It came easy to him because what they were really doing was pushing their minds into different frequencies. These frequencies allowed travel in the current Realm and different ones. Harmony made this a trivial exercise.

In this Saraph body Ruin didn’t have access to Harmony. Despite that, he’d pushed his mind outside his body, but it had existed inside the safety of the Towers’ roots. Even so, he’d felt his vulnerability.

Ruin didn’t rush into action and considered carefully what he intended to do. He believed it offered the maximum safety net for his friends, but he needed to protect himself as well.

An island wouldn’t be enough. Not when Ruin’s friends could be anywhere.

Ruin took a deep mental breath and prepared to do something he’d never done.

For years Ruin had worked to make his mind a fortress. He’d succeeded beyond belief. He huddled safely behind its unassailable walls, safe from the gods themselves. This mental fortress had expanded inward beyond comprehension. It was measured not in feet, but distances that spanned star systems.

The time had come to grow again.

Ruin stood on the platform inside his mind. He glanced at the massive statue that climbed thousands of miles in both directions before studying the planets that orbited him, and farther away, the stars that burned like distant fireflies.

Stepping to the edge of the platform Ruin looked down at the distant feet of the statue. With a thought he stood there, and he strode toward the safest part of his mind.

Ruin entered a forest of golden bamboo and advanced reverently through it. Golden light drifted downward like snowflakes providing an otherworldly illumination. Red and white vipers coiled around the bamboo, silently watching him.

Flashes of red through the bamboo caused Ruin’s stomach to predictably clench. A minute later blood red maple trees appeared, exactly like those in the forest near the Champion’s Fortress on Savage Island. The forest that he’d lost everyone in his Step Master class except for Nymthus.

Ruin entered the silence of the maple grove. Peace and serenity saturated the air and calmed him. Thirty seconds later he stepped out of the trees and into a familiar clearing.

Twenty-nine golden figures stood in a circle around a platform sculpted like four hands placed one atop the other.

Ruin approached the golden statue that faced the path he’d used. It wore the traditional Bamboo Viper Clan uniform, and golden light swirled gently around it, giving the illusion of movement.

Ruin bowed deeply. “Well met, Prythus. As always, it’s good to see you.”

Ruin proceeded around the circle, greeting each of his fallen friends.

Stepping past the guardians, Ruin approached the four hands that overlapped to create a platform. He didn’t know what had happened to Sift, Echo, or Nymthus who had also taken the We Four oath that Sift had uttered, but this place was the result for Ruin.

Ruin recalled the magnificent words Sift had spoken with the benefit of the Ink Lord Wrap’s fifty-point Intelligence boost.

“In the last grove of our fallen Brothers and Sisters, whose blood soaks this desecrated land, we four, witnesses to tragedy, heartbroken by fate, faithfully steadfast, affirm and swear this oath of secrecy, to not communicate in any fashion the whereabouts of the Legendary Artifact safeguarded by Nymthus of the Bamboo Viper Clan. As Step Masters, we guard our bodies, let this expertise now protect our thoughts and memories. We four, the last of our class, Brothers and Sisters of the Bamboo Viper Clan, so swear.”

That oath, powered by Spirit from Echo, blood from Nymthus, Soul energy from Sift, and Divine power Uruziel had contributed created the Celestial Oath, We Four.

We Four

You have vowed to not disclose the location or stewardship of the Legendary Artifact, Clouds Embracing the Sun. This oath, bound with the original forces of soul, blood, divinity, and spirit, has transcended the heavens. No power above or below can breach the Celestial Vault holding these memories.

Reward: Unarmed Combat level added to Mind Resistance.

Reward: Grove of Four – mental grove of bamboo, hiding memories and thoughts from intruders. Trespassers take Unarmed Combat level damage per second from the vipers inhabiting the grove.

Reward: Celestial Vault – an unassailable mental refuge capable of holding other memories for a number of seconds equal to Unarmed Combat level.

Restriction: Physically and mentally unable to discuss this topic or oath with anyone other than the original four oath takers.

The hands created an area twenty feet long and Ruin used the overlapping fingers like stairs to reach the top. When he stepped onto the platform nothing happened.

In the past, the artifact Clouds Embracing the Sun had appeared, radiating warmth and peacefulness. Ruin had destroyed the artifact saving Nymthus and her city. Hamma had provided a safe connection to the sculpture’s stored power and Harmony had allowed him to convert the faith magic it contained into Soul energy. The power had altered his Soul Vault long enough to escape the planet’s destruction with the entire city and its inhabitants. His Soul had still not recovered from that experience.

Ruin sat, crossed his legs, and studied the empty platform. Like always, his mind didn’t jump from idea to idea but retained a calm serenity. He closed his eyes and let the tranquility of this place soak into every part of his body, as he prepared to destroy it.