Divine Apostasy Book 11 - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“My name is Deryssa Val’dor.”

Deryssa bowed slightly, her movements demonstrating an effortless grace. Even though mostly translucent, her skin had the same mesmerizing tapestry of black and grey swirls as Ruin’s, and it shimmered subtly with prismatic light with her every shift in position. Four delicate wings enhanced her surreal beauty, their twitching hinting at suppressed nervousness. Grey eyes, deep and enigmatic, met his gaze, framed by the flowing cascade of her black hair that stretched most of her six-and-a-half-foot height.

Ruin remained silent as he fought to suppress a burst of rage. He’d never had much success hiding his emotions in his human body and that seemed to have transferred to his new form. In fact, the Destruction essence filling his body resonated with his sudden desire for violence. The swirling patterns across his skin increased their speed drastically.

Third level, Overlord said.

Ruin understood, and reluctantly entered the third meditation. The rage felt good, and he wanted to hold it tight, but it would only hinder him right now. With just a brief dip the rage fell away into the abyss the third meditation existed within. His patterned skin calmed its frantic dance.

Deryssa widened her eyes at Ruin’s emotional control.

“I understand your anger,” Deryssa said.

“I doubt that,” Ruin replied. “You sabotaged my every attempt to escape this realm. You carry the responsibility for destroying my body.”

Deryssa looked confused. “Responsibility? Why in the abyss would you want to stay human? That form is weak and ugly.” She held out her arms, rotating them slowly back and forth to display the black, white, and grey swirls. “You now possess the perfect form. You should thank me.”

The rage erupted again, and Deryssa’s translucent body took a step backward. She held out both hands and pulled her wings tight against her back.

“Let me explain,” Deryssa said. “There is much you don’t understand.”

Ruin’s body continued to amplify his anger and Overlord pulled Ruin into the third meditation where the emotions once again bled into nothingness.

Wow, that happens fast, Ruin said. Thanks.

No problem. We need to figure out how that happens. Uruziel is searching now. It’s like your body acts as an emotional amplifier.

Deryssa didn’t wait and spoke hurriedly. “The assassin who destroyed my body thought they successfully eliminated all traces of my blood, preventing my reawakening. The Remembrance Band of Authority sheltered my consciousness however, and my enemy’s greed resulted in portions of my essence surviving in the Aspect you wore. It wasn’t until the two items rejoined that I became myself again.”

The information alarmed Ruin, and Deryssa noticed.

“You are in no danger from me,” Deryssa said quickly.

Ruin narrowed his eyes.

Deryssa paused as if considering, and then sighed, her shoulders slumping. “It’s true that you are in no danger from me, but I only know that because I attempted to take control of your body when your consciousness remained separated from your body.”

“You would have killed me if you had the power,” Ruin clarified.

Deryssa met Ruin’s gaze. “Yes. I have many reasons for that, but none will matter to you right now.”

Ruin spoke to Overlord and Uruziel. Her honesty surprises me.

Uruziel spoke first. She has no choice. You’re her last chance. The risk of lying is too great.

We need to be careful with her, Overlord said. The more she understands about her situation and the environment, the greater the chance she could harm us.

She’s not in my mind though, right.

Correct, Uruziel said. I’m not sure about your body as it has changed too much. I think she resides in that band. It’s why we couldn’t find her.

Ruin spoke to Deryssa. “What do you want?”

Deryssa didn’t hesitate. She’d obviously had a lot of time to refine her goals. “Short term, we must strengthen you. Our enemies remain near.”

Ruin spoke before Deryssa could continue. “We? Our?”

Deryssa’s brows furrowed. “I don’t understand how, but you are a Val’dor. We have a duty to the spire and enemies to destroy.”

Ruin shook his head. “I have no such duty, and those are your enemies. I’m returning to my real body shortly.”

Deryssa gasped and held her stomach as if Ruin had punched her. A pang of sympathy shot through him, but he recalled how she’d, through the Scarecrow Aspect, thwarted all his chances at surviving the battle with Lalquinrial. Well, technically he had survived, but her actions had severely complicated his life. And actually, it hadn’t really been her, but the slivers of her essence that had strengthened the Scarecrow Aspect.

“Your real body?” Deryssa asked in a horrified whisper.

“I’m not a Val’dor.”

“Have you looked at yourself? You could be my son.”

“Don’t say that!” Ruin said angerly.

Deryssa waited until Ruin had calmed himself. “You wear the Remembrance Band of Authority. I sense the Inheritance of our family shouting from your blood. You are Val’dor.”

This argument serves no purpose, Uruziel said. Focus on getting information.

The comment irritated Ruin, but he recognized how on edge this conversation made him, and it didn’t make sense to lash out at Uruziel—especially since she was right.

“Why didn’t you want me to use that gem?” Ruin asked.

“Ah, yes. The Material Realm and the suspicious lack of blood magic.”

“What does that mean?”

“I know you’re aware of Aeonrial but remain ignorant of his plans. Plans I understand.”

Here it comes, Overlord said. The carrot and the stick.

Ruin agreed. He already knew where this conversation was headed, but he asked anyway.

“What plans?”

“I’ll tell you regardless, but I ask that you promise not to destroy me. I’ve made many mistakes, but my experience here in Aeonrial’s universe is my karmic repayment. I’ve suffered terribly, and you are my only hope at safeguarding the Val’dor duty, and hopefully, revenge against our enemies.”

Ruin considered thoughtfully for five seconds. “I will find a way to return to my human body, and I can’t promise that won’t affect you. That said, I give you my word to not destroy you with a few conditions. You can’t try to harm me or any extension of me either directly or indirectly through inaction or withholding information. If you lie to me, or purposefully allow me to misunderstand something in an effort to harm, your life is forfeit.”

“Of course,” Deryssa responded. “I’ve no desire to sabotage my last hope.”

“Okay, that’s settled. Now what did you mean about the ‘suspicious lack of blood magic’ earlier?”

Deryssa, despite being translucent, pulled a chair away from the small table in the vault’s center and sat. Ruin mirrored her.

“Aeonrial had a dream. A heresy beyond comprehension. If the Spire ever caught wind of this—”

Ruin held up a hand, interrupting Deryssa. “Sorry, I’ll try and not do this often. But you just said Spire. Is this spire related to the eight referenced by the bands? And how are those related to the five towers?”

Deryssa didn’t appear upset. “I’ve all the time in the world, and honestly, talking is a welcome distraction from the isolation I just escaped. The Spire I just referenced when speaking of Aeonrial could also be called the System for the Material plane in what you call the Outerverse. It controls everything within its domain.”

“Why call it the Spire?” Ruin asked, and then thinking about Lir, continued. “Is the Spire an intelligent machine?”

Deryssa shrugged. “Perhaps some in the Material Realm know, or perhaps the Emperor, but I don’t. It could be a group, or a sapient program, or something we can’t imagine. The important thing is that all the decisions are made there, and the System that controls all the factions in the Material Realm stems from that location.”

“And the spires in the Destruction Realm?”

“Those I know considerably more about. For now, think of the eight Destruction Realm spires as the vertices of an incomprehensibly large cubic rectangle. These spires mark the corners, the limits, of the Destruction Realm itself. It’s believed if any of the spires were destroyed, the Destruction Realm itself would unravel. Not even the Emperor can move against or damage a spire. In our realm, the spires are the closest thing we have to a universal religion.”

Ruin glanced at the Remembrance Band of Authority above his bicep.

Deryssa nodded gravely. “That band means you’re the caretaker, protector, and champion for one of those eight spires. The Val’dor are one of the eight original bloodlines. These families used the Spires to create the Destruction Realm, carving it out of the void, and giving our people a home.”

Deryssa paused and when she continued her voice carried sadness. “Someday, when your blood speaks to you, I’ll tell you the story of the original eight, and the slow decay of the Destruction Realm and its people.”

The Val’dor had helped create the Destruction Realm in some ancient time in the past, and now the last of them sat in front of Ruin, a translucent ghost. What sequence of catastrophes could’ve led to such an outcome?