Divine Apostasy Book 11 - Prologue

Prologue

Naktos watched with morbid curiosity and a significant amount of anticipation as Ruwen and Lalquinrial battled. Naktos floated deep in the chaotic energy surrounding Tower Island. Soul power coated his body like armor, protecting him from damage. His extended senses would be impossible to detect amid the frantic battle above.

Naktos didn't understand Starfield’s strategy. He’d fight decisively to reach an objective and then falter at the very end, as if sabotaging himself. Naktos had expected Lalquinrial to fail once again, but Starfield's evident issues with the Destruction Realm might prove his undoing.

The boy had shocked Naktos once again, displaying a mental ability that had killed everything within twenty miles, almost catching Lalquinrial. It shocked him how fast the boy had increased his power. Not for the first time, Naktos wondered if the boy had gotten help from outside.

Starfield looked to be out of ideas as Lalquinrial's minions continued to pour out of the infernal portals. Naktos watched in fascination as the boy assimilated Destruction essence into his body, obviously taking a page out of Lalquinrial's playbook.

The gambit might pay off, Naktos admitted. Destruction essence contained incredibly dense energy, and if Starfield could harness and control it, Lalquinrial might still fail.

The boy had trapped Lalquinrial in a philosophical discussion, an activity the Infernal Lord found irresistible. Despite Lalquinrial’s embrace of destructive nihilism, a small part of the god Naktos remembered still existed. A noble and determined man who had fallen for a false religion of annihilation.

Naktos nearly gasped as Starfield's transformation exploded outward, consuming his body in an instant. Even Lalquinrial displayed a shocked expression. Naktos was no expert on the Destruction Realm, but he knew enough about Destruction essence contamination to know consuming a Divine body that quickly shouldn’t be possible and meant disaster for the boy.

Perhaps Starfield's sudden consumption was related to his rapid ascent to Divinity. That growth greatly outpaced what anyone considered normal, and it made sense that whatever shortcuts the boy had used made him vulnerable to attacks like this.

Naktos still didn't believe the boy had died. Starfield had escaped so many certain death situations that Naktos suppressed his excitement. Chances were good the boy would save himself somehow.

Lalquinrial, perhaps thinking the same thing, coupled with his failure to convince Starfield to join him, stepped forward. The Infernal Lord looked sad, or maybe disappointed. Regardless, he gathered his Divine might and smashed the creature of destruction Starfield had become.

The impact from that attack sent waves through the island and into the sea that hid Naktos. Lalquinrial’s Soul-infused Spirit attacks had barely affected Starfield minutes ago, but in his current form, the attack destroyed him.

Naktos concentrated his senses around the battle, despite the danger of revealing himself. To his surprise, he could sense no traces of Starfield. Destruction essence had consumed the boy’s Fortified body, and Lalquinrial’s attack had vaporized that body.

Naktos couldn’t be one hundred percent sure from his current location, but it appeared Lalquinrial had succeeded. Naktos allowed a trickle of excitement to creep into his thoughts. Could Starfield really be dead?

Lalquinrial knelt and passed his hands through the dust, which was all that remained of the throne Starfield had destroyed. Naktos withdrew his senses as Lalquinrial hyper-focused his own detection methods in an attempt to find any traces of Starfield.

As the seconds passed, Naktos became more and more excited. After a minute, Lalquinrial stood and, with a complicated series of gestures, created a portal.

Naktos grinned and restrained himself from shouting. Starfield's rapid growth had taken Naktos by surprise, and by the time he'd taken the boy seriously, it had been too late.

Who could’ve predicted the boy’s incredible mental growth? The truth was, if Lalquinrial had failed here, Naktos would’ve been forced to implement his final option in a bid to halt the boy's progress.

The portal Lalquinrial had created led to a cavern deep within Naktos’ domain. Naktos decided enough time had passed to make it believable that he’d traveled to the portal. He didn't want to arrive immediately and give Lalquinrial the impression that Naktos had sat anxiously awaiting the portal's arrival.

Naktos pulled on his Soul energy, the only power with any strength here, and amidst the chaotic energies surrounding the island, he easily hid his teleportation. Appearing in front of the portal, he stepped forward as if exiting and then spent ten seconds looking around in shocked amazement, as if he hadn't watched the entire fight unfold personally.

"What happened?" Naktos asked.

Lalquinrial returned to kneel where Starfield had died. His clenched hand held the powdered remains of the throne. The powder fell slowly out of his fist, and his face retained its sad expression.

"Ruwen Starfield is dead," Lalquinrial said in a solemn voice.

Naktos quickly stepped forward and knelt on the destroyed throne. He placed both his hands in the powdered stone and ash, pushing a wave of powerful Soul energy into the surroundings to search for any part of the boy.

The soulless demon Lalquinrial carried howled in joy, the vibrations of its celebration evident to Naktos’ searching magic. He ignored the abomination. Now wasn’t the time for such distractions.

After a minute, Naktos pulled his hands from the dust and ash and sat on his heels. He’d detected the echo of Ruwen Starfield—the faint temporal impression the boy had left with his presence. And now, nothing remained.

Lalquinrial turned to Naktos. "Well?"

Naktos nodded and failed to suppress a smile. "He's gone. Ruwen Starfield is dead."

Relief flooded Naktos. In all his time, no one had come so close to unraveling everything he’d worked for. Now, after almost three years, what should have been a simple matter had finally ended.

"Yes," replied Lalquinrial, his voice just as sad as his expression.

"That's an odd reaction for vanquishing such a powerful enemy."

Lalquinrial grabbed another fistful of rubble and let it dribble out like sand from a broken hourglass. "There’s no pleasure in destroying lies, only duty to the truth. I thought him capable of seeing that truth, but the lies held him too tightly."

No one spoke for ten seconds, as if everyone needed a moment to adjust to the new paradigm. With Ruwen Starfield out of the way, nothing remained to stop Naktos. He vowed to never let things get out of control like this again.

"The book?" Lalquinrial asked softly.

Two birds with one stone, Naktos thought to himself as he removed the thin journal from a dimensional ring.

Lalquinrial had demanded that Naktos and Izac help with this attack. Naktos didn't know how Izac had sidestepped this event, but Naktos had done so with the promise of a lost journal—a fake journal, but one that held the truth regardless.

Naktos had protected the journal's exposure to the surrounding Destruction essence with a thin film of Soul energy. He wondered if Lalquinrial's half-consumed body even produced Soul energy or if perhaps the god had already lost it to the Destruction essence.

Lalquinrial accepted the journal reverently, and despite holding it with a hand completely black from Destruction essence contamination, the journal remained unharmed. Naktos didn’t bother hiding his surprise at Lalquinrial’s control of the surrounding essence, or the bubble of safety he’d created around the thin book.

"It looks the way I remember," Lalquinrial said quietly.

Naktos remained silent as Lalquinrial reminisced. Naktos recalled how close Lalquinrial and Pen had been before the Darkness appeared and Lalquinrial's path to destructive nihilism began.

The journal really was one of Pen's. Naktos had a handful that mostly contained poetry. He had carefully re-created this journal to retain the contents and then repurposed the book, replacing the poetry with other information.

Lalquinrial opened the journal slowly and carefully. He glanced at each page as he methodically worked his way through the handful of pages, pausing periodically to study the drawings.

After Lalquinrial had finished, the journal disappeared, safely stored in dimensional storage.

Irritation and frustration replaced Lalquinrial’s sadness. This pleased Naktos because it meant the Infernal Lord had extrapolated from the clues Naktos had carefully included.

"What do you think?" Lalquinrial asked Naktos.

Naktos responded as if he didn't know Lalquinrial's intentions. "I'm not sure it matters. There’s no way to confirm it, and it has no impact on us anyway, true or not."

Lalquinrial nodded thoughtfully. "Hypothetically."

Naktos had planned his response months ago when he confirmed Lalquinrial's true intentions. He paused for thirty seconds to make sure he gave the impression he had a thoughtful reply.

"Hypothetically," Naktos repeated. "If Pen’s information is correct and it resembles our experience here, then it would, at best, leave a person hopelessly unanchored and, at worst, dead."

Lalquinrial stared at the destroyed throne for another thirty seconds before standing. He turned and faced his allies and minions, which Naktos had carefully ignored.

The vast majority of the crowd came from the Infernal Realm. The Destruction Realm creature that Miranda had kept imprisoned since the halting of the Darkness looked from Naktos to Lalquinrial. Naktos glanced at the dark priest’s details.

Name: Achid Noljstew 

Realm: Destruction 

Type: Citizen 

Race: Maelstromian 

Tower: Chaos 

Estimated Power: Tier 2 Level 1 

Class: Inquisitor 

Path: Chaotic Unraveller 

Faction: Chaos, Death

Deity: Destruction Emperor 

Might: Medium 

Durability: Low 

Support: Low 

Strengths: Dimensional Warping, Focus, Willpower 

Weaknesses: Harmonics, Soul Power, Concentrated Aura 

Disposition: Neutral 

Description: Chaotic Unraveller is the most common path for Inquisitors. They are responsible for harvesting a universe at the sovereign’s command, and their vast numbers provide the Chaos Tower a position of respect second only to the Death Tower.

Naktos knew the Infernal Lord and Inquisitor barely trusted each other and had allied themselves out of need. Lalquinrial's desire for Outerverse knowledge made him vulnerable to questionable agreements, and Naktos knew how single minded the Inquisitors of the Destruction Realm acted.

Lalquinrial spoke a single word to the Inquisitor. "Time."

The Inquisitor jerked backward in shock.

Lalquinrial sighed and shook his head. He turned to Naktos and gave him a small bow. "Thank you, brother. I deeply appreciate this information."

Naktos returned the bow, making sure he went lower and held it longer. When he stood, the Inquisitor glared at him.

Lalquinrial raised his voice to address the horde of demons. "Return home and await my word. Our plans have changed."

Locking gazes with the Inquisitor, Lalquinrial radiated displeasure. A black portal appeared, and the Inquisitor entered without prompting.

Lalquinrial stepped up to the portal but paused and studied the destroyed throne a final time before turning and disappearing through the portal, which winked out of existence.

In moments, Naktos stood alone between the five towers. He gave the destroyed throne a look as well and worked hard to contain his joy. Everything had gone perfectly.