Divine Apostasy Book 9 - Chapter 1

[Author's Note: again, I am still finding my balance with how I want to begin book 9. There is information I want to get out, and I'm working through the best way to do that.]

Chapter 1

Ruwen studied the two dead gods on the slab, keeping his eyes away from their destroyed heads. Fractal had spread the Shattered Sun dungeon over a vast area, including the location Ruwen had faced the six deities, and when he wanted the bodies stored somewhere temporarily, Fractal had happily helped.

Now Ruwen stood in one of Fractal’s research rooms. Uruziel stood to Ruwen’s left in her black armored Risen Queen Minion and Overlord was on the right in the similar Fallen Lord Minion, both had hooked their helmets to their belts. Rami poked her head out through Ruwen’s hair and Fractal jumped from one of Ruwen’s palms to the other.

Ruwen recalled Sift mentioning Ruwen hadn’t had a head for a long time when transitioning from Gem to Divine, and that made him nervous.

“Are you sure?” Ruwen asked Uruziel for the third time.

“They won’t regenerate in this Realm,” Uruziel said. “It’s what makes it so dangerous.”

Overlord spoke, his voice as worried as Ruwen felt. “But if one of their friends swoops in here, grabs them, and puts them in a Divine Realm, the head grows back?”

“Yes,” Uruziel said patiently. “The Core, pathways, and Meridians are all intact. All their Spirit and essence remains.”

Ruwen felt Fractal trip as he leaped from Ruwen’s right palm, and he moved his left hand closer so the Dungeon Keeper could make the jump.

This is kind of gross, Rami told Ruwen over their link.

I know.

Ruwen nodded at the pair of dead gods. “They need to stay dead, but I had Fractal store them here because I didn’t want to waste an opportunity.”

“They are certainly full of opportunities,” Uruziel responded. “They are brimming with Spirit and essence.”

Ruwen looked down at Fractal and spoke out loud so the others could hear. “Hey buddy, do you remember Nak? That Naktos Assassin you absorbed. Can you tell me what you did to make that work?”

Fractal stopped jumping and the air in the room vibrated, producing Fractal’s voice from every corner. “Soul free. Pretty rock replace.”

Ruwen turned to Uruziel. “Will that work with gods?”

“What are you trying to do?” Uruziel asked.

“Is Nak busy right now?” Ruwen asked Fractal. “Maybe we could show—”

Before Ruwen could finish Nak appeared on the other side of the slab.

Ruwen had last seen Nak in the Spirit Realm shortly after they’d arrived there. Nak, that was the name Ruwen had given the creature, had been the assassin sent to kill him. During the camping trip Ruwen, Hamma, and Sift followed Lylan and found her talking with the assassin. The killer had circled around and attacked them. Ruwen had used his Void Band to snatch the assassin, killing it and saving their lives. The body had stayed in Ruwen’s Void Band until he’d given it to Fractal who had immediately absorbed it and used the body to create Nak.

In the Spirit Realm, Nak’s eyes had looked dead and devoid of any intelligence, but now they assessed Ruwen and the others with obvious understanding. The assassin’s clothes had also been replaced with worn greyish leather, and multiple daggers hung securely to a vest like Lylan’s. The outside of both legs had a combination of throwing stars and smaller knives.

The drastic change threw Ruwen and he raised Fractal to eye level. “Why does Nak look,” he paused, trying to find the right word, “alive.”

“Fractal smarter. Nak smarter. Everyone smarter. Smart—Smart—Smart,” Fractal repeated as he jumped between Ruwen’s hands again.

“Interesting,” Uruziel said. “Can I approach you?” she asked Nak.

“Of course,” Nak responded.

The air sacks on each side of Nak’s neck rose and fell more quickly as his breathing accelerated. Was Nak scared?

“Hey, Nak,” Ruwen said as Uruziel walked around the slab. “You look good.”

Nak bowed. “Thank you, Dungeon Master. I enjoy my new responsibilities.”

“Good. What are you doing now?”

“I manage a raid event in the ruby district on floor one hundred thirty-three.”

Ruwen didn’t know what any of that meant and the number of the floor made his jaw drop. It reminded him he needed to sit down with Fractal as soon as possible.

Uruziel reached Nak and slowly raised her hands. “May I touch your chest and back.”

“Of course,” Nak responded again.

Nak fascinated Ruwen. The assassin had a heartbeat, and the breathing appeared to serve a purpose. Most amazing was the obvious nervousness Nak felt. How could the creature have emotions like that?

Uruziel stepped closer and to Nak’s right. She lightly placed her hands on each side of his body and spoke quietly. “No soul—no aura—some type of crystal core—normal organ and mental functions.” She lowered her hands and stepped away from Nak. “You’re alive.”

Nak nodded at Uruziel. “I am.”

Shock at the simple statement caused Ruwen to stare dumbly at the assassin. He focused on Rami over their mental link. Can you talk with Fractal please and get the details of what’s going on here. It’s hard to decipher him sometimes and this is complicated.

On it.

Ruwen spoke to Nak. “Do you remember anything before the dungeon?”

“Like you killing me?” Nak asked with a smile.

Ruwen’s eyes widened, and he wondered if Nak might attack.

“I don’t, actually,” Nak said. “Fractal told me of my origins when I asked. I have no memories of that person.”

“This is freaking me out,” Overlord whispered.

“Ditto,” Ruwen replied. Then to Uruziel, he asked the most obvious question. “How can Nak live without a soul?”

Uruziel shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Fractal had stopped his jumping for a bit but now resumed.

Rami appeared to Ruwen’s left, taking her human form, and spoke. “Fractal is testing the God Stones on the dungeon inhabitants. Successfully, obviously. The God Stone allows them to retain their memories between deaths, and Mom loaned him empaths to help them balance their emotions after each revival. If I understood Fractal correctly, he also sped up the maturing process by adding things like language and combat skills to their backups.”

“Fractal is a necromancer,” Overlord said. “Wait, no. He’s a biomancer.”

Ruwen held up Fractal again. “Hey buddy, you told me backing up souls created difficulties for you. Is this a way around that?”

Once again, the response came from the air itself as Fractal used the room like a voice box. “Soul selfish. Hate share.”

Ruwen waited for more and when nothing came, he turned to Rami.

Rami laughed. “Give me a second.”

Fractal quit leaping again, standing still as he mentally spoke with Rami. When the Dungeon Keeper resumed his jumping Ruwen turned to Rami.

“It appears once a soul links to a body, it smothers everything, effectively claiming it. To use the God Stone on a soul bound entity, requires more work.”

Uruziel, now standing on the other side of Rami, continued. “When Nak died his body released the soul, which allows Fractal to use the God Stone.”

“That brings us full circle,” Ruwen said as he gently gestured toward the dead gods not wanting to dislodge Fractal. “Since they can still regenerate in the right Realm, they still have their souls. Which brings up another question I’ve wondered about. If Divine beings are all soul, doesn’t that make their whole body necessary?”

Uruziel shook her head. “Your Divine body is created out of soul energy, not pure soul, they’re related but different.” She pointed at the dead gods. “That soul energy acts like a container, keeping the soul attached to the body.”

“So, to truly kill them, we need to release their souls.” Ruwen grimaced. “I wanted to turn these gods into powerful guardians for the dungeon, but now that I see Nak, I’m worried that might create problems.”

Overlord whistled. “A dungeon with two peak deities.”

“Ruwen is right,” Uruziel replied. “That sword can cut both ways. It might be better to just Harvest them both. Ruwen is vulnerable right now without Spirit and essence, and the solution is right here.”

Ruwen concentrated on Rami. Has your mom replied to my request?

Not yet.

“Fractal, what are your thoughts?” Ruwen asked.

“Help much. Soul body research,” Fractal responded.

Ruwen had expected that answer. The last issue with Fractal and Miranda’s God Stone was the soul portions, so these bodies would be invaluable.

“What are you thinking?” Overlord asked Ruwen.

“Harvesting them is easier, safer, and immediately solves my Spirit problem. On the other hand, I might have a solution for the Spirit issues, and the last hurdle for the God Stone is related to souls, making these bodies very valuable for that research. Having two peak deities in our dungeon would be an amazing resource, too.”

“You should really just ask,” Rami said.

Ruwen sighed, dreading the thought. “Is she going to freak out when she sees two dead gods? She probably knew them. What if the Pact forces her to attack me?”

“Do you honestly think she doesn’t know already?”

Ruwen handed Fractal to Rami and rubbed his face with his palms.

“You told that army from Stone Harbor the Pact had ended,” Uruziel said.

“Well, I don’t really have any control over that,” Ruwen responded. “I’m not part of the Pact, and the deities seem to do whatever they want despite it. I guess what I really meant is that I’m not going to take it into consideration anymore. I’m doing whatever is best for my goals now.”

Rami sighed. “As soon as those six deities showed up, I informed Mom. In fact, I sent her the entire battle in real time.”

Ruwen turned to Rami and repeated what she’d said only moments before. “Do you honestly think she doesn’t know already?”

Rami blushed.

“Why the need to hide the truth?” Ruwen asked.

“It’s worse than that,” Rami said. “She wanted me to silence you if you tried to invoke her as the Pact Adjudicator.”

Ruwen’s eyes went wide. “First, would you have done that? Second, could I have called her? I’m not part of the Pact.” He suddenly felt very dumb.

Rami winced and shuffled from foot to foot. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I would have done. Mom promised me she would come if things looked dire, but she insisted you couldn’t summon her.” Rami looked up at the room’s ceiling for a few seconds and groaned as if in pain. “There’s more. Mom wanted me to interfere if you went after Naktos. She claimed he needed to escape. She said it was really important, and something about him being the only one clever enough to fall into her trap. As if that makes any sense.”

Rami looked terrible, her eyes glistening, and Ruwen pulled her into a hug. “Thanks for telling me.”

“I should have told you immediately,” Rami said, her voice filled with emotion.

Ruwen considered the position Miranda had placed Rami in, and the terrible choice Rami would have faced while dealing with a life and death situation. He didn’t believe Miranda overly cared about him, but he knew she loved Rami and wouldn’t put her daughter in mental anguish unless it was important.

Ruwen stepped away from Rami. “If I’ve learned one thing from all this insanity, it’s to trust my friends. I shouldn’t have asked you earlier about what you’d have done, as if you needed to pick between your mother and me. The truth is, if your instincts tell you to trust your mom, you should.”

Rami hugged Ruwen being careful not to squish Fractal. “Thanks,” she whispered. She stepped away and gave a small laugh. “Holding that was awful. I’m so glad it’s out.”

“I wonder what Miranda was up to,” Overlord said.

“It is a little concerning without knowing her motivations,” Uruziel added.

Ruwen pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in reluctant submission. He needed advice on what to do with these gods, along with a glimpse into the consequences of each option, and most importantly, an answer to his earlier request.

“Fine, call your—”

A loud gong interrupted Ruwen, the suddenness of it making him flinch.