Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ruwen sat cross-legged on the packed dirt of the unfamiliar tent, and grinned at Sift’s shocked expression. “What did I miss?” he asked again.

Sift’s shock turned to relief before mirroring Ruwen’s grin. He leaned forward from his sitting position and hugged Ruwen. “I worried the worst had happened,” Sift whispered.

Ruwen returned the hug, his throat tight. He let Sift go and whispered back. “The worst? No. Although I did see Blapy.”

Sift winced. “Ouch.”

Ruwen shrugged and rubbed his right wrist. “Actually, it wasn’t that bad. You could say I saw a new side of her.”

“Meditate,” a voice hissed from Ruwen’s left. “You’re going to get us in trouble.”

“Ignore them,” Sift said. “We’ve been meditating here all night.”

Which probably meant twenty minutes, Ruwen thought. He rubbed his right wrist again. Sift saw the movement and pointed at Ruwen’s hand.

“You can’t have jewelry,” Sift said. “That will get you in trouble.”

Ruwen looked down. The black ring he wore had small white runes swirling across the surface. He had gotten it just moments ago, and the details were still fresh in his memory.

Tring!

Pen has gifted you…

Name: Apocalypse Hoop

Quality: Legendary

Durability: 90 of 100

Weight: 0.12 lbs.

Restriction: Divine Aura

Description: Plain black dimensional ring. When worn, white esoteric runes circle the Apocalypse Hoop detailing events from the past, present, and future. The end is inevitable.

Pen had left this dimensional ring for Ruwen. It contained the items that Pen had wanted Ruwen to have. The Apocalypse Hoop had sat in the Third Secret, along with Blapy and all the Spirit from the Universe, for over ten thousand years.

Because of the restriction, a Divine aura could only open it. That meant Ruwen had to wait until he transitioned from Diamond to the first level of Divine, Angel.

A minimized notification sat at the bottom of Ruwen’s vision and nothing looked greyed out. That meant this place likely sat in the same galaxy as Grave and his connections to Uru and the Black Pyramid worked.

Ruwen pulled the ring off his finger, and the itching on his right wrist intensified. He opened the Void Band a fraction and dropped the ring into the dark portal. Now the ring sat deep under the Black Pyramid, safely out of his enemy’s reach. He looked up and found the source of the itching on his wrist.

Echo sat across the room. She stared intently at Ruwen’s left wrist and the now closed Void Band. Her eyes slowly rose until their gazes locked. He could see the confusion on her face, and something that looked like shock. Likely both emotions had come from his sudden appearance here. She had sent him to what she assumed was eternal questioning.

Ruwen kept his face neutral, but anger made his thoughts swirl. He needed to make sure Echo didn’t leave this place. And another thought struck him. Echo had sent Ruwen from the Black Pyramid’s kitchen to the Infernal Realm by using her own aspect, Death, to activate the Scarecrow Aspect’s set bonus: Infernal Embrace.

While in the Infernal Realm, Ruwen had discovered that concentrating on Infernal Embrace allowed him to reset the bind point. He focused on it again now, terrified Echo might use the same trick again, sending him back, and making all the damage he’d done to his Core and Meridians pointless.

A notification appeared across Ruwen’s vision.

Unable to set Infernal Bind Point. Infernal Realm required.

Ruwen continued to focus on the set bonus and a second later, another notification appeared.

Remote trigger: Enabled

Enable or Disable

With a mental finger, Ruwen smashed Disable.

“Where did you go?” Sift whispered. “My parents went a little crazy when you disappeared.”

Ruwen had spent the last week with the taste of maple syrup in mouth, and he glanced at his debuffs.

Unworthy Vessel:5 Damage per Second, Migraine, Synchronization Suspended.

Uneven: Everything you eat or drink tastes like pancakes smothered in maple syrup.

Ruwen’s Unworthy Vessel debuff stemmed from carrying around a divine fragment of Uru in his mind. A fragment that had fled into his Core and hadn’t yet returned. Overlord had followed to retrieve her, but had also not returned. Ruwen pushed his worry for the pair into the third meditation. Overlord could take care of himself. Ruwen had lived with the migraine’s pain for so long, he barely noticed it now.

The Uneven debuff came from the quest That’s Not a Number and had triggered from Ruwen’s poor choice of words. Because Sift had rescued Ruwen from the vastness of the Universe, Ruwen had to do one of three things every day to make the taste of maple syrup disappear: compliment Sift, aid him, or get him to accept a gift.

This would continue until Ruwen could get Sift to say they were “even.”

Ruwen rubbed his temples. How did he explain where he had gone?

The faint scent of citrus filled the tent, and Ruwen forced his heartbeat to remain steady. He would need to try and get Sift to say “even” later. That smell meant he’d run out of time to talk.

Ruwen met Sift’s eyes. “I did some group sparring and could have used your superb skills.”

Sift smiled and the taste of maple syrup faded from Ruwen’s mouth. Before Sift could respond, Ruwen spoke again. “We’ll have to catch up later. We’re not alone anymore.”

Sift looked around at the other meditating students. “No kidding.”

Ruwen shook his head. “That’s not who I mean.”

That citrus scent had accompanied Thorn the first time Ruwen had met the Founders. He had only smelled it when she had come within inches of his body. But he’d transitioned into Gem since then and Fortified to Peak Diamond. His senses were vastly better now.

Ruwen closed his eyes and concentrated on his touch, hearing, and smell, and a moment later picked up the incredibly faint vibrations of the three Founders. He opened his eyes and found their location, which looked empty. They must have some sort of soul magic that kept them invisible.

“I don’t sense anyone new,” Sift said.

One of the Founders stopped causing vibrations and Ruwen wondered if she’d stopped moving. A moment later, a pressure wave appeared behind him, as Dusk used her Shadow Step ability to teleport to his location.

Ruwen kept his body posture neutral, although he desperately wanted to take a more defensive stance than sitting on his butt. Now wasn’t the time to reveal the extent of his progress, and he kept his heartbeat steady.

Dusk moved invisibly and squatted to the side of Ruwen. He tracked her movements without looking in her direction.

Sift stretched and quietly yawned. “This place needs a suggestion box, because the food is terrible.”

As Sift returned his arm to his side, he flashed Ruwen Shade Speak. Sense. Close. Now. While Sift’s Metal Fortified body didn’t have the power yet to sense the Founders across the room, at least he noticed them when they approached.

“You should offer to open a branch of the Divine Sage here,” Ruwen whispered.

Sift looked at Ruwen, carefully not looking at the invisible Dusk. “Wherever you went, I’m glad you found some sense, because that is an amazing idea. Unfortunately, these old women are more interested in their games than pastries.”

Ruwen hid a smile. Sift obviously, with his “old women” phrase, wanted to get a rise out of Dusk, who remained near them. “You’ve already tried to convince them, haven’t you?”

Sift returned his gaze to the platform. “Only twice. I’m sure they’ll see reason eventually.”

Ruwen closed his eyes, as if to meditate. “It sounds to me like they’ve already found reason.”

“Bite your tongue.”

The invisible Dusk disappeared and reappeared a moment later next to her also invisible sisters. Ruwen opened his eyes but kept them away from the left side of the platform.

Two dark-skinned women appeared on the platform, and Ruwen recognized Mist and Thorn. Dusk remained hidden near them. Everyone stood and bowed to the two women.

“Good morning, Adepts,” Mist said. “Today begins your seventh day of the first trial.”

Thorn pointed at Ruwen. “One of your brothers has arrived late, and you will determine his fate.”

Everyone turned and stared at Ruwen. He had never liked attention and did his best to not squirm under all the scrutiny.

Mist waved her arm. “Since our brother missed the ranking ceremony, he will assume the rank of thirty-three. This places him in the fourth rung, so they will decide.”

The tent remained silent, and Ruwen wondered what the fourth rung meant.

“Good,” Sift whispered. “They really need the help.”

Mist continued. “Tardiness cannot go unpunished, however. Your brother will lose one hour of daylight for every day he’s missed.”

“Ouch,” Sift whispered. “That’s going to hurt. You only get twelve to begin with.”

Thorn locked gazes with Ruwen. “Be seen by your Clan.”

Ruwen kept his stance neutral and raised his arm for a few seconds.

“If the fourth rung does not accept you,” Mist said. “You will have forfeited your opportunity to partake in these trials.”

“As explained on your first day,” Thorn said. “Not finishing results in expulsion from the Bamboo Viper Clan.”

“Harsh,” Sift murmured

Ruwen had expected to face this possibility, but not within moments of arriving.

Thorn continued. “The fourth rung should know, if they accept their brother, they share his penalty. The fourth rung would begin every group trial delayed by seven hours.”

Sift groaned. “Now you’re in trouble.”