Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Prologue

Prologue

Lalquinrial stepped out of the ring of stones that served as a gate portal to this place and breathed deeply. The humid air held a tinge of salt from the ocean waves that crashed into the cliffs nearby. A single moon hung like a lantern in the sky, bathing everything in soft light.

The Darkness had seeped into this galaxy before Pen had stopped it, which made this planet a perfect location for further exploration into this part of the Universe. The Infernal Realm had gained a strong foothold here because of it, and Lalquinrial had visited many times.

Five days had passed since Lalquinrial had trapped that problematic boy in an Infernal Bubble. It had taken that long to coordinate this meeting. Too impatient to walk, Lalquinrial teleported to the door of the lone structure. It stood like a wart on the smooth green grass, but the isolation suited his needs.

Lalquinrial reached for the doorknob and paused. For just a moment, it had felt as if someone’s gaze had crossed his back. The others had agreed to come alone, but perhaps they’d brought protection, or, unlikely as it might be, helpers to spring a trap.

Turning, Lalquinrial pushed his Divine Authority outward, hoping to trap whoever had triggered his senses. With the ease that comes with thousands of years of experience, he filtered out everything from the microorganisms in the soil to the fish in the nearby ocean, leaving nothing behind.

Lalquinrial could count on one hand the beings capable of hiding from his Divine Authority. Perhaps it had been the Companion, as she proved almost impossible to hide from. This felt different, though, and the touch so light he began to doubt his recollection. Perhaps meeting his brethren after so long had made him nervous.

Lalquinrial frowned and turned his attention back to the thick oak door, made to withstand harsh rain and howling winds. Opening the door, he found his two guests already present.

The men sat at a table in the center of an otherwise empty bar, a half pitcher of dark beer between them. That the bar had no other patrons didn’t surprise Lalquinrial. It took a special type of person to risk the dangers this building held. Now, with three of the most powerful gods in the Universe together, it would terrify anyone.

Naktos smiled at Lalquinrial and slowly filled an empty glass from the pitcher. Lalquinrial returned the smile, genuinely happy to see his Spiritual brothers. He had kept himself apart from the others, perhaps for too long, but that would soon change.

Izac stood and Lalquinrial grasped the red-haired god’s forearm. All the Disciples had their flaws, including himself, but Izac combined impatience, power, and anger. The trifecta made long-term relationships difficult. Izac wanted to rule this Universe, while Lalquinrial knew this Universe only served as a stepping stone to true power.

Eiru, Izac’s sister, scared Lalquinrial. Unlike Izac, her power had paired with patience and piercing Intelligence. Thankfully she had isolated herself from the other Disciples with her talk of throwing away Grave’s Spirit. Why would anyone wish to redistribute such a concentration of power?

Lalquinrial turned to Naktos and flashed a genuine smile. White-grey hair like granite blended into pale skin from a lack of sunlight. A scarf hid the two sacks on his neck that gave his kind power over poisoned air. They clasped forearms and bumped shoulders.

“It is good to see you, Lal,” Naktos said. “I enjoyed meeting your daughter last year.”

Lalquinrial grinned. “Liar. She is too much like her mother and as she grows into her power, I’m beginning to worry for my safety.”

They all laughed as they sat, and Lalquinrial took a sip of the dark beer, enjoying the balanced sweet and bitter smoothness of the drink.

Naktos, with only seven connected Meridians, lacked brute Spiritual power. He compensated for this weakness with knowledge, planning, and alchemy. His scientific approach to problems appealed to Lalquinrial and they had become friends during the eons they traveled with Pen.

“I have the boy,” Lalquinrial said.

Izac leaned forward, and Naktos went still as he prepared to absorb every detail of Lalquinrial’s report.

Lalquinrial leaned back and pursed his lips. “Our problems are greater than I feared, and we are fortunate I captured him now. If he had transitioned into Divine, I fear our plans would quickly unravel.”

“It’s true then?” Naktos asked. “He is an Axiom?”

Lalquinrial shrugged. “I could not penetrate whatever cloaks his Spirit, but I watched him destroy an entire army, and then five of my Aspects at the same time. He still powers his spells with his own essence—”

“What?” Izac asked, interrupting Lalquinrial. “Does he lack a mentor? Has my sister abandoned him?”

Lalquinrial pushed his irritation into the third sphere and continued. “I do not know. But remember the timeline. He has reached Peak Diamond in less than two years. What progress had we made our first two years?”

Naktos chuckled. “I hadn’t even formed a Core yet.”

“None of us had,” Lalquinrial said. “So we should not fault a missing window when viewing the palace he has created.”

“You sound as if you like him,” Izac said.

“I will come to that,” Lalquinrial said. “To finish my earlier thought, after he somehow escaped the trap we’d set, he proceeded to destroy the army I’d assembled. A hundred thousand followers dead in minutes. I studied his attacks and believe he used pure essence combinations for each. No essences were combined. I now believe Simandreial that the boy is a true Axiom.”

Izac hissed and Naktos leaned back in shock.

“There is so much more to tell you, I don’t know where to begin,” Lalquinrial said.

“How about starting with how he’s still an Axiom,” Izac said. “I thought you were a God Killer.”

Again, Lalquinrial felt enough irritation to use the third sphere. He had forgotten how quickly Izac got under his skin. “I tried and failed. In addition to reaching Peak Diamond in under two years, he has reached Grandmaster status in the Bamboo Viper Clan’s secret forms.”

“He is only Diamond,” Izac said in disbelief. “I thought you were good.”

Lalquinrial took a sip of beer to stop himself from attacking Izac. Starting a fight here would likely only result in destroying this world, and Lalquinrial needed this planet more than he needed to defend his Step skills reputation.

Naktos placed a hand on Izac’s shoulder. “Perhaps we should hear all the details before rushing to judgment.”

Izac shrugged, grabbed his beer, and leaned back.

Lalquinrial continued. “My Divine Fortification gave me a clear physical advantage, but he has mastered Probability Waves, which gave him enough time to defend himself. That is only one reason he can never reach the Divine levels. A Divine level Grandmaster with his skills could destroy all of us. He could destroy a Meridian every time he got close enough to touch you. If you do not fear me, know that I fear him.”

Naktos spoke into the silence. “You mentioned this was only one reason he shouldn’t be allowed to reach the Divine levels. What are the others?”

Lalquinrial shook his head and took a sip of beer. He picked up the pitcher and refilled all their glasses. “You will not believe me.”

Thoughts of the dark apparition Lalquinrial had witnessed as it destroyed his most powerful psychic demon, bled into his mind. A creature of pure Nihilism. It resonated so strongly with him that he’d thought of nothing else since discovering its existence.

For the first time in millennia, Lalquinrial desired something other than the power to escape the prison of this useless Universe. Regardless of what happened to the boy, Lalquinrial would claim that specter, and find a way to harbor it himself. Now that he had seen what was possible, he’d begun strengthening his own mind.

“Well?” Izac said. “Are you going to tell us?”

Lalquinrial pulled himself away from the memories of that perfect being. “Right, sorry. He has created an entire world inside his mind.”

“What do you mean by world?” Naktos asked.

“His mental island is a mountain, topped by a grand citadel and surrounded by a multi-walled fortress. The walls protect a literal city. Hundreds of thousands of fully actualized mental constructs reside there. An ocean of raw letters surrounds the mountain like an ocean, and he has somehow,” Lalquinrial paused and shook his head. “ He has somehow recreated Kholy.”

Both gods leaned forward.

“What?” Naktos whispered. “He has a Divine fragment in his mind?”

Lalquinrial shook his head. “No Divine fragment. I doubt even his mind could tolerate that. But somehow his mind is generating self-aware constructs that seem highly focused on a particular topic. But I talked to the Kholy construct, and I recognized her.”

“None of that is possible,” Izac said.

“I know, but I witnessed it myself,” Lalquinrial said.

Naktos remained very still. “The leaps in physical ability, the mental impossibilities, the hidden Core, maybe you aren’t as crazy as I thought.”

“What are you talking about?” Izac said.

Naktos faced Izac. “You know Lal’s interest in the Darkness and the people who sent it. What if this boy is one of these outsiders? Or maybe discovered some of their lost technology.”

“Regardless,” Lalquinrial said. “Imagine if we could learn how to advance our followers to Peak Diamond in two years, train them to be Step Grandmasters at the same time, and create mental fortifications capable of resisting a god. That kind of power would break us free from this shell of a Universe and allow us to face what exists outside from a position of strength.”

“Or we should kill him,” Izac said. “I’m only interested in this Universe and his abilities destroy all semblance of balance.”

Lalquinrial immediately dropped into the third sphere and stayed there. His urge to protect the phantom in the boy’s mind had overwhelmed him, and he’d almost attacked Izac. Lalquinrial would not allow anyone to kill the boy until he’d extracted that apparition.

“There is no rush to kill him,” Naktos said. “He is trapped, and he holds so many secrets, they warp the mind with desire.”

“What about the sixth rune?” Izac asked. “Just before you arrived I felt Pen’s Itch.”

Lalquinrial narrowed his eyes. “Pen’s Itch?”

“Yeah,” Izac said. “Every time Pen smeared I felt it on the back of my neck, as if he stood behind me. I haven’t felt that in over ten thousand years.”

Lalquinrial took this information seriously. Izac, just like his sister Eiru, had ten connected Meridians, making the twins the most powerful Disciples. And while Lalquinrial didn’t remember feeling anything like the itch when Pen had lived, he had grown in power and understanding since then. He had felt Pen’s Itch tonight, too.

“Smearing with a Gem body?” Naktos said. “You saw what it did to Pen, and we all remember poor Kholy. Both of them were peak Deity.”

Lalquinrial considered if the boy could have accomplished such a thing. He did have some version of Kholy in his mind, and she might have explained to him the process. A process that had destroyed his beloved mentor, vaporizing her body as he watched.

Of course the boy would look for ways to escape the Infernal Bubble, but using such a method was like destroying a galaxy to kill an ant. He had felt something before entering the bar, just like Izac, but it must relate to something else. The boy had accomplished impossible things, but from painful experience, Lalquinrial knew the price of such a path.

Lalquinrial rubbed his chin. “The boy would never survive the attempt. If he did try to embrace the universe then he is surely dead.” Along with the precious construct, he didn’t add.

“Then what is your plan?” Izac asked. “Did you just worry us for no reason?”

Lalquinrial shook his head. They had finally come to the crux of the problem. Izac and Naktos would hesitate to enter the Infernal Realm and he needed them motivated to risk entering his domain. “I need help subduing him long enough for me to destroy six of his Meridians. Once he transitions from Diamond to Angel, our chances of facing him alone disappear. Together, we might still prevail. But every step he climbs toward Deity makes stopping him less likely. We must first and foremost, keep him from reaching Divinity.”

Naktos tilted his head. “What is his purpose? Did he ask for anything?”

Lalquinrial drained his glass and wiped his lip with a hand. He looked at Izac. “You asked me earlier if I liked him. He warned everyone, multiple times before he attacked. Even then, when possible, he left enemies alive.”

“That is foolish,” Izac said.

“Or at least, very dangerous,” Naktos added.

Lalquinrial nodded. “He is powerful, noble, naïve, and merciful. He reminds me of our Master before the Darkness took him. Do I like the boy?” He shrugged. “But I do admire him. He is a younger version of all of us.”

“You never answered the question,” Izac said. “What does he want?”

“I almost manipulated him into revealing that, but a construct interfered. It doesn’t matter, though, we need only look at his protector to guess at motives.”

Naktos nodded.

“He’s going to take Grave and smear it across the Universe?” Izac asked. “Why won’t she let that go?”

“Because, unlike us, Eiru is also noble,” Lalquinrial said.

That angered Izac, but Lalquinrial didn’t care. He only needed the god for a short time. Once they had crippled the boy, he would slowly peel back the layers until he’d learned all the boy’s secrets. Then he would take the precious dark phantom from the boy’s mind, and nurture it himself.

Lalquinrial sighed. “The three of us might not be enough.”

Izac laughed, but Naktos looked concerned.

“He may not have revealed his true strength,” Lalquinrial said. “If that is the case, we need another plan.”

Naktos nodded knowingly and took a sip from his beer.

“What are the alternatives?” Izac asked.

“We target his friends and family,” Lalquinrial said. “We capture them and use them as leverage against him.”

“Now that is something I finally agree with,” Izac said.

“I will coordinate,” Naktos said. “I already have assets there encouraging the civil war. It’s ironic how Eiru destroyed her country by trying to save it.”

“She was never too bright,” Izac said.

Lalquinrial held his tongue. He knew better than to underestimate the goddess. She, like Pen and the boy, shared the ability to inspire. It stemmed from their goodness, and it even resonated with him. And that is what scared him the most. Because the boy had almost reignited a spark of hope in Lalquinrial. If that power grew and combined with Divinity, there is nothing in the Universe that could stop the boy.

Lalquinrial pushed himself away from the table and stood. “I propose we do this now.”

Naktos and Izac stood as well, and the three of them left the bar. They walked toward the ring of stones, a cool breeze urging them along.

Lalquinrial felt a sliver of sadness for the miracle they went to destroy, but he knew delaying gained them nothing.

And deep down, a part of Lalquinrial worried they might already be too late. That while they all strolled through life, Ruwen Starfield sprinted.