Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Epilogue

Epilogue

Gunder sighed in frustration as another knock interrupted his thoughts. He looked up from the ledger on his lap and raised his voice so his head of security, which everyone just called Hos, could hear him through the door. “Yes?”

“Sorry to disturb you again, sir, that security breach remains active, and we wish to move you from the city.”

“I though you sent a team to address it.”

“We did, sir. Unsuccessfully.”

“Are you positive it’s one person?”

“By all appearances, sir.”

“I’m confused. Are you saying one man countered six of your specialists?”

Three seconds passed in silence, and then the response finally came. “Countered does not capture the encounter, sir. Ignored is a better term. No one saw the fight, but all six men are down.”

“Dead?” Gunder asked.

Another pause. “Unsure, sir. Somehow the group I’d formed with the team terminated before the attack.”

“Did you cancel the group?”

“No, sir.”

“Do you think he did somehow?”

Before Gunder could get a response, a buff appeared on his display. Shouting erupted from the guards arrayed around this building. It appeared he wasn’t the only one to have the unexpected addition to his display. He focused on the buff and read the details.

Uru’s Favor: Cure Hunger, Cure Thirst, Minor Heal, Minor Cure Poison, Regen +10%.

Gunder closed the ledger, placed it on the nearby desk, and opened the door. “Send two more teams. I want to see this man for myself.”

Gunder considered the buff Uru’s Favor. The power to generate such a large area of effect spell meant this intruder must be a Cultivator. Probably another troublemaker from the mountain group Phoenix led. He had hoped Phoenix would see reason, but if not, Gunder wouldn’t allow an enemy to remain so close. If this did turn out to be a Cultivator, he would strike their village later today.

A Dimensional Mage at the end of the hall stood straight as they approached.

“North wall,” Hos said.

The Mage nodded, cast a spell, and warped the three of them to the top of New Eiru’s wall. They faced north toward the forest and that cursed dungeon.

A lone figure approached the city, still five hundred feet away. If the figure generated that buff, it meant it spanned over a thousand feet. Since that seemed absurd, Gunder guessed whoever worked with this person had planted some sort of magical device in the city earlier.

Someone down below cast Dawn and the entire area to the north lit up. Two strike teams raced toward the figure on air sleds. Gunder removed a looking glass from his Inventory and held it to his eye, bringing the trespasser into focus.

A man most likely from the build, Gunder decided, but he couldn’t tell for sure as they had covered themselves completely in the garb of the sand assassins from the south. But instead of the normal brown, this person wore all white. Might it still be a Dune Wraith? He had encountered very few of their kind since reviving. They were dangerous, but not enough to destroy one of his strike teams.

The figure strode forward at a slow and even pace, unconcerned about the two air sleds bearing down on him. One of the sleds stopped and the other angled around behind, surrounding the man. He appeared to be alone.

“Fluid movements,” Gunder said. “Probably an unarmed specialist. They might need you.”

Hos nodded and the Mage warped him to the back of the now stopped air sled. Gunder relaxed a little, knowing his best men surrounded the figure, and Hos could match even a Step Master in unarmed combat.

To Gunder’s surprise, the distant figure seemed to trace the Dimensional Mage’s path directly back to Gunder. With white cloth covering the face and eyes of the Dune Wraith he couldn’t tell for sure, but his heart rate increased as worry surfaced for the first time. Something about this person didn’t feel normal.

Gunder, I will see you shortly.

Gunder dropped his looking glass in surprise, the fragile glass shattering on the stone. The voice had appeared inside his head, as if he’d grouped with the man. And he’d known Gunder’s name, which should have been impossible with his settings on private.

Who are you? Gunder asked. How are you speaking to me?

I am Uru’s Shadow, and judgement is a voice only the wicked hear.

“Goodbye, Judgement,” Gunder whispered as he touched his ring. The linked jewelry sent a signal, telling his men to attack.

Before Gunder’s men even reacted, Judgement spoke again in his mind. Wasteful and unnecessary.

Gunder cursed his broken looking glass and leaned forward, straining to see details. The two strike teams practiced together, and their attacks were perfectly coordinated. The front group cast a stun, root, blind, Resistance debuff, and snare while the rear group launched two heavy crossbow bolts, a fireball, lightning, and a chaos orb.

The figure immediately shifted, moving faster than Gunder could follow through what looked like some type of Step forms. Did Dune Wraiths have a Step Clan?

Before the thought had finished, the figure stood still again. None of the spells had reached the man, or he had nullified them somehow. He must possess a powerful artifact to cancel out so much magic. In each hand, he held a heavy crossbow bolt, which spoke to not only the man’s Dexterity, but his Strength.

The intruder suddenly appeared in the middle of the rear air sled, even though Gunder had not even seen him turn. He must have some type of Blink spell as a human couldn’t move that fast.

The five members of the rear strike team, plus the Air Mage guiding the sled, collapsed at the same time. The two Marksman had their own bolts lodged in their chests and Gunder couldn’t see what had caused the other four to fall but assumed they had died as well.

What do you want? Gunder asked, wondering what mechanism the trespasser used for this communication. One thing was clear, the man didn’t tolerate threats. He hadn’t even offered Gunder a warning to withdraw his men.

I want to discuss your actions, and the justifications for them, the Dune Wraith said.

You want to judge me, Gunder replied.

Yes.

If Uru really sent you, then you know I’ve received my punishment. There is nothing left to take. You want my life? Take it if you can. I reject you, Shadow of Uru, just as I reject Uru and anyone else who says they care for us. It’s a lie. You’re a lie. And I will kill you for it.

Gunder flicked his wrist, signaling his men down below to send everyone into the clearing. A hundred highly trained soldiers from his personal army spilled into the clearing. Some of them had reached levels over seventy-five.

Including Hos, the unarmed combat specialist, who strode toward the intruder from the first air sled.

If you run now, Gunder said. You might make it to the trees.

Your time is up, Gunder. I will see you in eight seconds.

Gunder laughed. It took ten times that long just to reach the top of this hundred-foot wall, not to mention the strike team in front of this false prophet or the hundred plus experts rushing toward him. What a joke.

One, the number sounded loud in Gunder’s head.

The Head of Security attacked with a right jab, which the intruder side-stepped as they struck Hos’ neck, causing him to collapse.

Two, Uru’s Shadow said calmly.

The Dune Wraith slammed a palm forward into empty air as a Fire Mage launched a massive fireball. The spell struck a shield in front of the intruder and before the flames disappeared, he strode through them and jumped onto the air sled. All of the men collapsed.

Three, the voice said.

Cracks of thunder reached Gunder, seeming to originate from the air sleds. Did the intruder have some sort of explosives?

Gunder’s reinforcements had only made it a hundred feet from the wall. He gasped as the intruder jumped four hundred feet and landed in front of the wave.

Four, the voice came.

For the first time Gunder felt concern. This obviously was a Cultivator, and likely Gem-Fortified. He touched his right earring shaped like a white orb. It meant he would need to use one of his relics. One that would suddenly stop this Cultivator’s spinning core, causing intense pain, and giving Gunder plenty of time to remove the man’s head with an infernal-terium garrot. It would slice through Gem-Fortified flesh like fresh bread.

Five.

Uru’s Shadow strolled through the small army, redirecting spells with a wave of his arm, or shoving them back at the caster with palm strikes.

Six.

Gunder’s heart raced. He had never encountered a Cultivator with such skills, but that didn’t surprise him as they kept themselves and their methods as secret as possible.

The figure raised his arms and the ground rose with them. He brought his hands together as if praying and the land folded itself, devouring the army like a hungry predator.

Seven.

A weaving palm strike from Uru’s Shadow on the battlefield below, and the air grew suddenly cold atop the wall, the wind gusting suddenly. The sound of falling bodies caused Gunder to look down the walkway. The guards as far as he could see had all collapsed, spears of ice protruding from their chests.

Gunder turned back to the clearing, to see if any of his army remained, but they all lay motionless. Worse, the trespasser had disappeared.

“Eight,” a voice said from behind Gunder.

Gunder jumped. His normal composure destroyed by this Dune Wraith. He spun around to find Uru’s Shadow standing four feet away. The white strips of cloth wrapped the six-foot figure completely, not revealing any skin at all. Perhaps this wasn’t a man at all, but some type of demon from the Infernal Realm.

Gunder jerked his hand upward toward his ear. He had never intended to let Uru’s Shadow get so close to him. His hand had barely moved when the figure grabbed and held it.

“Do you think that will help?” Uru’s Shadow asked.

Frustration filled Gunder. He had underestimated the creature’s speed.

Uru’s Shadow released Gunder. “I won’t stop you.”

“You are a fool,” Gunder said, raising his hand.

“Yes,” came the simple response.

Gunder couldn’t believe his luck. The arrogance of this man to think himself immune to magic. Gunder would demonstrate how ignorant the intruder was, and then kill him.

Pressing on the earring, Gunder, an Ascendant of Uru, didn’t feel the wave of Spirit he knew the earring released. He smiled, expecting to see Uru’s Shadow clutch his chest and collapse like the previous Cultivators had.

“Interesting,” the intruder said, and took the earring from Gunder before he could even flinch.

“So you’re a thief, then?” Gunder asked rubbing his now bare earlobe.

“The dead wear no jewelry.”

Gunder sneered. “I will walk this wall again by sunset tomorrow. The only one dead here is you.”

“Gunder, for what purpose do you create unrest and brew discontent among Uru’s people?”

Gunder spit on the ground between them. “Curse Uru, and the rest of them, who destroyed this world along with their followers. If Uru did send you, then I hope you burn a thousand thousand years in the darkest pits of the Infernal Realm.”

“I am a shadow, and the Infernal Realm cannot hold me. I have come to right the wrongs.”

Gunder stepped forward and pointed at the figure, shouting the response. “Then give me back my family! I want my life back!”

The spell Dawn still hung high in the air, and the shadows from Gunder’s movements created odd shapes on the stone. That is when he noticed the figure didn’t cast a shadow. Nothing. It was as if he wasn’t even standing there. Could this be some sort of illusion or hallucination? Had he finally lost my mind?

The figure glanced at the area Gunder studied and offered an explanation. “Shadows do not cast shadows.”

Uncertainty filled Gunder. Could this figure really come from Uru?

A debuff appeared.

Shadow’s Judgement: Unrevivable.

“You will cease creating unrest and problems immediately,” Uru’s Shadow demanded.

Gunder looked at the wrapped face, where he imagined the creature’s eyes must be, and answered. “I will not.”

“Then you will die.”

Gunder closed his eyes, the pain would finally be over. He cupped his hands near his heart. “The tide comes for us all,” he whispered, and brought his palms to his lips.

Gunder waited, his closed eyes filled with the blinking debuff that made this death permanent. He wondered if Uru’s Shadow would make his death painful.

After ten seconds, Gunder opened his eyes. The figure stood only a foot away.

“Why did you say that?” Uru’s Shadow asked.

“They are my wife’s words. I say them to remember her. To remember what the gods took from me.”

The figure gasped and took a step backward.

Gunder lowered his cupped hands, wondering what could shock this creature.

Slowly, Uru’s Shadow reached out, took Gunder’s right hand, and turned it toward the light. It stood that way, staring at Gunder’s palm.

The figure dropped Gunder’s hand and jumped off the wall. A thunderclap sounded, and in seconds, Uru’s Shadow had sprinted across the clearing and entered the trees.

Gunder raised his right hand, the one that had itched for weeks, and looked at his palm. But this time, he saw something. Not the rash he thought would explain the itching. No. Something almost as unexpected and unexplainable as the figure that called itself Uru’s Shadow.

In the middle of Gunder’s palm a windswept tree softly glowed.