Divine Apostasy Book 9 - Chapter 2 (Revised)

Chapter 2

Fractal jumped out of Rami’s hand and Blapy caught him.

“I thought you were expanding the Frigid district today,” Blapy said, glaring at Fractal.

Fractal clumsily pulled himself up Blapy’s arm, using one of her blonde pigtails like a rope, until he reached her shoulder. He immediately began jumping and Blapy quickly steadied him with a hand.

“Doubled. Doubled. Done.” Fractal said.

Blapy raised her eyebrows. “Yank my scales, I expected to nag you for another week about that. What will I do with all my free time now?”

“Frigid?” Ruwen asked. “As in the Frigid Sea?”

Blapy turned her glare to Ruwen. “Shameful you don’t know the bounds of your own dungeon.”

A pang of guilt filled Ruwen. “I know. Fractal and I already talked about it. I’m giving him my full attention after I take care of a few things.”

“Young Dungeon Cores are just like hatchlings,” Blapy said. “Ignoring them will negatively affect their development.”

“I understand. Fractal knows how important he is to me.”

“Then show it,” Blapy said, her voice serious.

Ruwen nodded, knowing Blapy had Fractal’s best interest in mind. “Frigid Sea?” He asked again.

Blapy smiled at Fractal. “Yep. We’re expanding north as well.”

Understanding arrived in a rush, and Ruwen looked at the two dead gods on the slab. Haffa had ruled over a large section of the Frigid Sea and Quintyn had controlled most of the north. The bodies of the gods had barely cooled and Blapy had already moved to take advantage of the situation. That didn’t surprise him as much as what that meant for the size of the Shattered Sun.

Ruwen wanted to ask how big the dungeon was, and he could probably find a map in his Dungeon Master interface, but he didn’t want to get distracted from his immediate problems.

“Speaking of those areas, I could use some advice.” Ruwen pointed at Nak. “Fractal just showed us Nak and it runs counter to what you told us about bodies needing souls.”

Blapy shrugged, and Fractal grabbed a pigtail to steady himself. “It’s a new discovery that I don’t understand, other than it appears souls are like parasites or poison and only death releases you from their grasp. Only the success of the God Stone has demonstrated another route. It is mind blowing, sure, but it doesn’t alter the reality we live in, which is for us, without a soul the body is nothing more than a sack of bones, fat, and muscle.”

“That brings me to my problem, and the answer to it partly relies on your answer to my request.”

Blapy narrowed her eyes and Cuddles appeared in her left hand. She brought the ugly stuffed centipede to her face and squished it into her cheek.

“What request,” Overlord asked. “I missed that.”

Ruwen turned to Overlord. “Yeah, you and Uruziel were out running around.”

Overlord blushed, suddenly looking very uncomfortable.

Ruwen continued. “You know how I tried getting back into Miranda’s Divine Realm and couldn’t. I want to take bars of terium there, Harvest them, and Refine a little into essence. The time difference coupled with the excess terium we’ve mined because of Bliz’s Crazors, would let me replenish my Spirit quickly.”

Uruziel nodded. “That’s why you need an answer, because if Miranda lets you back, you don’t need to Harvest these bodies.”

Blapy pointed Cuddles at Ruwen. “Do you know how much damage you caused to my Realm? Three times!”

Ruwen took a step away from the disgusting stuffed animal. “I’m sorry. The soul explosion I wasn’t awake for, and I’d had my wings for like twenty seconds when I sliced off half the mountain top. In fact, we should really blame Sift for that one.”

“What about the lightning? Archie’s seen it before and believes it’s the Universe itself.”

Ruwen froze, completely unprepared to talk about the Architect Role leveling up, and the entity in the Universe called the Sentinel that had sent lightning along with the upgrade.

Trust your friends, remember, Rami said over their link.

Your mom is not my friend.

Are you sure.

Well, she doesn’t act like a friend.

Everyone shows affection in different ways.

“I want to tell you about the lightning,” Ruwen said to Blapy, “and using the time differential of your Realm seems like a fair trade.”

“No deal. I’ll learn about that eventually anyway,” Blapy said. “If you want to trade, promise me you’ll help bring the prisoners back to the Black Pyramid when we find them. After fixing the prison itself of course.”

Fixing the prison made Ruwen think of Sift, as soul power was a critical component of the eight gates that made up the jail. “Is Sift okay?”

“Oh, now you ask about that dummy. Some friend you are.”

Ruwen did feel a little guilty for being so focused on his own issues. It was hard to keep track of all his problems.

Fractal jumped off Blapy’s shoulder and onto the stuffed centipede. Riding it like a horse.

“Sift and Shelly are alive but still in comas,” Blapy said softly, “Hamma is with them.”

Ruwen swallowed hard. Hamma had left for the Black Pyramid right after Xavier stabilized, and he’d assumed Sift was the reason. “Are they okay? Did they fix the explosion?”

The only reason Sift and Shelly had gone to the Black Pyramid in the first place was because Ruwen had suggested it. If they died, the guilt would crush him.

“They did, in fact, clean up the disaster you made, and I’m confident the worst is over.”

Relief filled Ruwen and he forced himself back to the things he could control. He’d planned to help with the prisoners anyway, as both Hamma and Lylan had seemed very motivated to help. He didn’t feel like agreeing to Blapy’s terms cost him anything.

“I agree to help with the prisoners,” Ruwen said. “But I can’t concentrate on that until things here have stabilized. Not only is Sift in a coma, but Lylan is missing, and I need to make changes to this country before unrest brews again. Not to mention everything else I’ve ignored like Fractal and New Eiru. And well,” he gestured at the two dead gods, “I might have invited the apocalypse over for dinner.”

“You really created a mess,” Blapy agreed.

Ruwen sighed. “I’m expecting an attack soon, and I’m guessing far more than six will come this time.” He realized he had no idea what faced him. “How many deities are there?”

“Most didn’t join Pen,” Blapy said with a shrug, “and their circumstances are unknown.”

That statement shocked Ruwen. He’d assumed all the deities had unified under Pen for the battle against the Darkness. He narrowed his question down. “I meant how many are near enough to attack me.”

“Near enough? Probably around forty.”

“Forty?” Ruwen asked in disbelief.

Blapy waved her free hand. “Only Pen’s disciples pose any danger to you,” she glanced at the two dead bodies, “and now, only ten are left.”

Ruwen also studied the bodies. “To be clear, I didn’t create this mess. They brought it to me.”

That made Ruwen think of the odd requests Blapy had made of Rami. It meant the fight with the gods provided Blapy an angle that benefited her, and he wondered if he could fish it out. The only reason she would care related to either Fractal, Rami, or the Pact, and while killing neighboring gods allowed Fractal to expand, ensuring Naktos escaped did nothing for Rami or Fractal.

Ruwen tilted his head in thought. “During the war for New Eiru I glimpsed what I now know are demons, trying to destroy the third temple. When I asked the temple about that later, they reviewed the Pact and informed me the Infernal Realm presence, coordinated with members of the Pact, clearly violated that agreement.”

Blapy narrowed her eyes at Ruwen.

Ruwen sighed and shrugged. “I didn’t have any proof, so I let the matter go. Today, though, we had six deities, hundreds of demons with their Infernal Lord, and over fifty thousand witnesses, so it surprised me when the Adjudicator didn’t arrive.”

Blapy turned her glare to Rami, who avoided her mother’s gaze and reached down for Fractal, acting as if the little Dungeon Keeper required her whole attention.

Ruwen continued. “It made me curious since I worried killing these Pact members might cause some sort of retribution on myself, even though I only acted in self-defense. Had the Adjudicator arrived, perhaps things might have gone differently.”

Blapy locked gazes with Ruwen but didn’t speak.

That silence confirmed for Ruwen something had happened, and he pushed on, preparing to defend himself physically if necessary. “In fact, if the Adjudicator were here, I would tell her I’m ignoring the Pact. We’ve been attacked twice, proving the Pact is worthless. I’ve already transitioned my three temples into a war footing, and the Temple Guardians patrol our borders. I’m going to strengthen my people and weaponize whatever I can to ensure our survival.”

Blapy still didn’t speak.

The lessons Ruwen learned playing bandball against Bliz surfaced and mixed with those from Savage Island. Miranda had obviously benefited in some way from what had happened here, and he decided to put all his cards on the table. “Sometimes the best defense is a good offense, and if any threats come to my attention, I will destroy them completely. Let me be even clearer. If I feel any danger, I won’t wait for a Pact member to act. I will take the battle to their Divine Realm, rip them from their seat of power, and destroy them in the Material Realm. If they are part of the Pact, or not, means nothing to me.”

Rami stared at Ruwen, her mouth open in shock.

Ruwen kept his eyes on Blapy but spoke to Rami over their link. Please start a list of Divine Realm gate runes.

Blapy gave a small nod. “If the Adjudicator were here, she would bristle at your tone, but understand, perhaps even sympathize, with your reasoning. She wouldn’t question your resolve for carnage and death, after all, the apocalypse has arrived. The most relevant question isn’t what you will do. I think it’s obvious,” she glanced at the two dead bodies, “that you’ve been pushed over a line. The question is, what if a deity arrives, not to fight, but to follow.”

Ruwen leaned back, as if dodging a blow from Blapy.

“Destroying is easy,” Blapy said in a serious tone. “Building is hard.”

Overlord mentally spoke to Ruwen. What she’s saying might be true, but it’s a distraction. If you had a point in poking her, stay focused on it.

Thank you, Ruwen responded. Please talk that scenario over with Uruziel and get her opinion. Deities wanting to join us never even occurred to me.

Ruwen regained his mental balance, confident that one of Miranda’s forms had obtained something from his battle. Not knowing how large the gain had been, though, forced him to bluff.

“My troubles greatly benefited you, and I would like a small favor in return,” Ruwen said.

Blapy smiled wryly. “What makes you think I profited from your plight.”

“Experience coupled with your nature.”

The smile turned into a grin; not a friendly one, but a predatory smile. “And your small favor?”

“Unlimited Void Bands.”

Blapy burst out laughing. “You consider that small? It would take the rest of the year to detail the issues you and that barkeeper caused me.” She held up a finger. “Just one of you literally almost destroyed my planet.”

Both Rami and Sivart had emphasized the importance of supplies in war. Not only basics, but weapons, building materials, and a thousand other things. They could use normal dimensional storage for most of that, but it concealed what he really wanted them for: immense damage.

Of course, many Classes could produce mass destruction, but none of them with the flexibility the Void Band provided. The massive variety of storable items, coupled with the capacity to propel those items, and the ability to control the trajectory made them perfect weapons of war.

Ruwen had revived all one hundred sixty-eight Workers with Void Bands from the Third Temple’s revival queue. Deepwell had thirty Void Bands including Bliz, Stone Harbor numbered forty-five, and including himself it totaled two hundred forty-four.

The fact Blapy had not outright said no, gave Ruwen hope. “Okay, a hundred-fold seems fair.”

“You really have lost your mind,” Blapy responded. “My storage is nearly full at the moment, but I might be able to manage five hundred total.”

Ruwen didn’t change his expression, but joy filled him. He’d been right. What had happened to put her in such a receptive mood?

“Twenty thousand,” Ruwen replied.

“This isn’t a negotiation, but I do recognize the Adjudicator, although desperately working to save her planet, inconvenienced you, so I’ll bump it to one thousand.”

“Ten thousand.”

Blapy pointed Cuddles at Ruwen like a sword. “Twenty-five hundred and if you ask for more, I’ll bury this entire country in centipedes.”

“Twenty-five hundred sounds perfect,” Ruwen said immediately, thrilled he’d increased his max total by ten times.

“It doesn’t matter. It’ll be centuries before you have enough Ascendants to wear those Bands.”

Ruwen nodded, keeping the smile off his face. He had a plan for that already. An idea, ironically, he’d gotten from Blapy herself.

Ruwen summarized their discussion, adding a few extras. “First, I’ll help with the gates and the prisoners, and you’ll allow me and Sift into your Divine Realm to Harvest terium we bring ourselves. Second, in an act of generosity, for the inconvenience we experienced due to the Adjudicator’s unfortunate, but unavoidable, absence, you will provide me with two-thousand two hundred fifty-six Void Bands immediately.”

“Why all the Bands immediately? A brief glance through your country leads me to believe you don’t even need five.”

Ruwen told the lie as naturally as he could. “I don’t want to bother you in the future. Do you want to meet me over two thousand more times?”

“Darkness take me, no,” Blapy replied immediately. “Fine.”

Ruwen wanted to jump up and down but obviously didn’t. Blapy had also not remarked on the addition of Sift to the Harvesting plan. He mentally focused on Uruziel and spoke to her directly. Do you know how to separate the soul from these gods?

Yes, Uruziel replied.

Ruwen nodded at the two dead gods and spoke to Blapy. “Since I don’t need to Harvest them, I plan on letting Fractal experiment with the souls for your God Stone. When he’s done, we’ll release the souls and give them the Nak treatment. Do you see any danger with that?”

Blapy tapped her chin in thought before looking at Fractal who Rami still held. “Listen up. When you’re ready to start, call me. I’ll take you on a field trip. There’s an immense amount of energy stored in those bodies, and I don’t want to destroy the Shattered Sun when experimenting.”

Fractal must have responded to Blapy directly because she sighed and spoke again. “Yes, we can look for pretty rocks while we’re there.”

Since a deity didn’t immediately lose their soul when they died in the Material Realm, it provided an incredibly rare opportunity for study. Which made it very very valuable. Ruwen cleared his throat.

“Do you ever stop?” Blapy asked Ruwen.

“Well, it just seems fair that since I’m giving you access to such a precious resource like two trapped souls in the Material Realm, you could do a couple of things for me.”

“I really hate this new you.”

Ruwen failed to keep the smile from his face this time. “Just learning from the best.”

“What now?”

“I just want Lylan’s current location until we find her.”

“Done.”

A yellow arrow appeared on Ruwen’s map pointing south.

Relief flooded Ruwen. He’d been worried the search for Lylan might take weeks or even months, but now they could move straight toward her. Now they only needed one more thing.

“My last request is a portal to Sift.”

An oval portal appeared behind the slab containing the two dead gods. Ruwen needed to learn how Blapy did that across such vast distances. Xavier had created a similar portal when they’d gone after Gunder in his underground hideout, but he’d explained the distances he could manage were limited. Ruwen needed to convince Xavier to teach him how it worked.

“Now?” Blapy asked, looking at Fractal. “Suddenly you’re in a hurry?”

In a blink, Blapy, Fractal, Nak, and the two semi-dead gods disappeared.

Overlord and Uruziel returned to Ruwen’s mind, and the Minions evaporated.

Rami turned to Ruwen. “I’m going to check on Xavier again.”

“Of course. I’ll let you know when I get back.”

It was time to check on Sift, so Ruwen strode toward the portal.