Death: Genesis

Zeke stumbled free of the dungeon and fell to his knees. Hastily, he dismissed his prize – as he’d so flippantly labeled it – into his spatial storage. However, even the brief time he’d been forced to hold it had wrought havoc on his system. He glanced down at his hands, which were covered in a host of lesions, and pulsed [Cambion’s Awakening]. Even using the skill at full tilt wasn’t enough to completely counteract the poison coursing through his body. In fact, it wasn’t even enough to fight it to a standstill, and the toxin continued to spread.

Squinting up at the clear, blue sky, Zeke saw that it was sometime around noon. More than that, he couldn’t tell, because his vision had already grown blurry. Pushing his illness away, he gathered himself enough to climb to his feet and summon the gate that would allow him to enter the tower.

Behind him, the centaur camp remained where he’d last seen it, but even as they reacted to his sudden appearance, he had little interest in dealing with them. Instead, he staggered through the gate. The moment he crossed the threshold, his strength gave out, and he fell face-first onto the Entry Hall floor. After that, he was vaguely aware of scaley hands dragging him through the room and to the teleporter. Then, what felt like a blink of an eye later, he was slipping into the healing waters of the Crimson Spring.

But for the first time, the miraculous spring wasn’t enough to completely heal him. Fortunately, it managed to stave off the worst of the poison so he could think straight enough to continuously flare [Cambion’s Awakening].

And it worked.

Barely.

Even with the combined effects of Zeke’s skill and the potent healing offered by the Crimson Spring, his regeneration only narrowly outpaced the devastating corrosion of the poison he’d received as his prize for conquering the dungeon. Kobolds came and went. Even a couple of centaurs tentatively entered the chambers containing the springs. Though Zeke couldn’t afford the lapse in attention acknowledging their presence would require. It took everything he could muster to simply maintain his healing. Anything else would ruin all the progress he’d managed to make.

So, for days, Zeke focused the entirety of his mind, body, and soul on counteracting the potent poison. And gradually, he recovered. Bit by bit, his body healed, and after a week, he finally managed to release his death grip on his skill. The poison had broken, and as a result, he could relax and let the Crimson Spring work its magic.

However, when he opened his eyes, he saw that the normally clear waters had been stained black. Without hesitation, Zeke once again embraced [Cambion’s Awakening] and climbed from the spring. The moment he left those healing waters, the poison began to gain ground, so he wasted no time before staggering into the next chamber and collapsing into the clear, scalding pool.

This time, the water crashed into the poison with the fury of a tidal wave, pushing it backward without delay or difficulty. That made it clear what had happened. Somehow, the poison had tainted the other pool, and so, its power had been somewhat mitigated. Now, though, the poison had been weakened so much that the clean waters had no trouble cleansing it.

Still, it was no quick process, and Zeke ended up remaining in the pool for another two days before he switched to another. Then, it took one additional day before he felt completely healed.

“I hope I never have to take that thing out of storage again,” he said. “What kind of an asshole move was it for that mushroom bastard to disable my spatial storage? I mean, it was working just before he awarded it to me.”

“You need to leave the talking to me,” Eveline suggested. “You could pose as my loyal manservant and bodyguard while I take care of social obligations. Of course, I can’t actually touch anything physically, so you’d have to be my hands. You know what? I bet we could figure out how to give me control of our body if we really put our minds to it.”

“My body.”

“I live here too.”

“You’re a guest,” Zeke sighed.

“A favored guest who you will do anything to –”

“Or a parasite.”

“That’s not a very nice way to characterize our mutually beneficial relationship,” Eveline said. “It’s symbiotic.”

“Sure. If you say so.”

Eveline huffed, but she didn’t overtly respond. Instead, she went silent, sulking in the back of his mind. That was fine by Zeke, who wanted to spend a little time considering what he’d been through in the dungeon. It hadn’t been nearly as onerous as his first time in a dungeon, but it certainly hadn’t been what anyone would call easy. The trials had tested him in ways that, while familiar, still stretched his capabilities to a frightening degree.

But nothing could have prepared him for what he’d felt the moment the mushroom man had handed over the writhing ball of tentacles that was his reward for conquering the dungeon. The fungus man had said something about being a poison-based natural treasure, but the second Zeke had taken it, he’d lost the ability to truly comprehend anything. The poison had raced through his body, and he’d only managed to hold it in check via [Cambion’s Awakening], his insanely durable body, and his sturdy resistances.

Still, it had come closer to killing him than any of the challenges, which suggested that it was probably at least a C-Grade treasure. Maybe as high as A-Grade. Either way, it would satisfy the requirements of his quest to upgrade the Crimson Tower. At present, he possessed treasures pertaining to ice, earth, poison, and, if he could trust Eveline’s promise, demonic corruption. That meant he only needed treasures dedicated to fire, water, wind, nature, arcane, and disease to complete the set.

“Don’t forget holy,” Eveline muttered, clearly still pouting.

“Right. Thanks,” he allowed.

Vaguely, he heard her say something about not being bad for a parasite, but he ignored it. Instead, he focused on the coming days. Satisfying another requirement of his quest was all well and good, but he was more concerned with gaining the respect of the centaurs so that he could wage war against Adontis. After that, he would rescue Talia.

For a long time, Zeke just floated in the pool, letting the healing waters banish any residual corruption, corrosion, or fatigue. But finally, after a couple more hours, he couldn’t convince himself to stay any longer. He had responsibilities, and they weren’t going to be resolved until he left the tower. So, with that in mind, he climbed out of the pool, donned some clothing someone had left for him, then headed toward the teleporter. When he reached it, he headed to his manor, where he spent a few minutes catching up with Pudge before going to his bedroom and dressing himself in something more appropriate.

In the end, he chose a pair of sturdy brown pants, some black boots, and a flowing white shirt that he knew wouldn’t last. He had a habit of going through clothes very quickly.

“Maybe if you would avoid getting roasted or poisoned or bathed in acid, you wouldn’t have to worry about that kind of thing,” Eveline remarked. It was her first contribution in some time.

“Probably,” Zeke agreed, brushing his long hair. It had grown almost to his shoulders, and his beard wasn’t much shorter. “I need a haircut.”

Once, he’d relied on Abby for that kind of thing, but ever since they’d gone their separate ways, he’d let his hair continue to grow. Soon, he’d have to do something about it.

Eveline said, “You miss her.”

“I do.”

“But you also acknowledge that she was bad for you.”

“Yeah.”

“That makes no sense.”

Zeke shrugged at his own reflection, saying, “Can’t help the way I feel, even if I know it doesn’t add up.”

After that, he left the manor behind and progressed through the Entry Hall. Along the way, he picked up a small retinue of kobolds. Pudge came along as well, and together, they all left the tower and crossed into the centaur camp. It was the same as when Zeke had gone into the dungeon, though the residents all looked at him with renewed respect. Before, they were fearful, but now, they seemed almost subservient.

And it made Zeke just as uncomfortable as it did when the kobolds treated him that way. However, he knew he’d have to get used to it. For better or worse, he had set himself up as a leader. That came with certain perceptions, responsibilities, and expectations. He just needed to acclimate to the inevitable.

Still, it made walking through the camp – which was the size of a city – more than a little uncomfortable. Zeke shouldered his unease and carried it into the large tent at the center of the settlement. There, he found the Mistress of the Herd, Rasa Tomaki. She was flanked by a half dozen other centaurs, three to a side. None of them looked happy to see him alive.

“You have returned,” Rasa said, bowing at the waist.

“Wasn’t easy,” Zeke admitted, returning her bow with a nod. He wouldn’t bend more than that for anyone.

“Nothing worthwhile ever is,” she said, straightening to her full height. With Zeke in his human form, Rasa towered over him. She was also a higher level than him, and yet, he didn’t feel the least bit intimidated. Because he knew that, on the hierarchy of power, both real and imagined, he was her superior.

She knew the same thing.

That was why she’d allowed him to take the trial in the first place. Not that she could’ve stopped him once he knew about it, but that wasn’t the point.

“What will you have us do?” she asked. “You are Spear of the People. We are your servants.”

“Servants?”

“Yes. The Seer has spoken, and –”

Just then, one of the other centaurs let out a roar and charged Zeke. He reacted instantly, summoning his hammer even as he began an uppercut that took the relatively small centaur in the chest. The force of the impact crushed the creature’s breastbone, sending him to flip, end over end, before he hit the tent’s wall. He tore through that, only coming to a stop a few dozen feet away.

Even after a few seconds, he didn’t move. And Zeke knew why. The centaur was dead. One blow was all it had taken. Slowly, he turned toward Rasa, who seemed to be frozen in place. Her mouth agape, she stared at the fallen centaur.

“Why?” he demanded, his grip tightening on the haft of his hammer. “I have done nothing to you or yours. I have helped you defeat your ancestral enemy. I have defeated your trial. And yet, you attack me? Tell me why, or so help me, I will murder every single centaur on the Mukti Plains.”

And he meant it, too. If the Mistress of the Herd answered unsatisfactorily, he and his kobold guards – as well as Pudge, who looked even more ready to kill everyone than Zeke himself – would tear their way through the camp on their way back to the gate. From there, a flood of kobolds would wash over the plains’ natives, leaving nothing behind.

It was almost inevitable.

“Forgive us!” she pleaded, bowing again. This time, she bent her forelegs, sinking to the ground. “Raku did not speak for us! His actions were unsanctioned. He acted alone!”

“Is that so?” Zeke spat, anger still roaring inside him. Now that he’d walked up to the edge, he desperately wanted to dive into that ocean of fury. That was his demonic side making itself known. He knew that. And yet, he couldn’t deny it. More, he didn’t want to. Instead, he wanted to quench that fury with the blood of his enemies.

“Master yourself,” Eveline said. “You are better than some feral demon. You are a king. Act like it.”

Oddly enough, that got through to Zeke, and he backed away from the cliff. The sound of those crashing waves still called to him, but he resisted. When he finally took hold of his own psyche, he blinked down at the Mistress of the Herd.

She was terrified.

And rightly so. Zeke hadn’t realized it, but he’d summoned the corrupted mana to fuel his ire, and as a result, the cracks on his skin – which were usually mostly invisible – had flared to life. Even Pudge had backed away.

“Rise,” he commanded, his voice rumbling with the power of corruption. He forced that demonic mana away, though it was difficult. He hadn’t even used a skill. It had just suffused him.

“Because you are a demon at heart,” Eveline pointed out. “The blood of corruption is diluted, but it is there nonetheless. You must control it, lest you surrender whatever humanity you have left. Control it, or it will control you.”

Zeke had fought against his demon side before – especially in the demon realm – but never when he wasn’t channeling a skill. It was a troubling development, but the solution was clear. Even without Eveline’s advice, Zeke would have known what he needed to do.

Rasa pushed herself upright. “What would you have us do?” she asked. “Ak-toh.”

“Why did you call me that?”

“It is what your people call you. I’m told it means ‘savior’, does it not? It seems appropriate.”

Zeke didn’t acknowledge that. It seemed that he would have to live with that moniker for a while longer. Perhaps for as long as he led the kobolds. And now, the centaurs. “Tell me, are you ready to go to war?”

“We are always ready. Who will we fight?”

“The Knights of Adontis. They have imprisoned and enslaved anyone who isn’t like them,” he said. “We’re going to put an end to that, even if we have to kill every last one of them. Ready your herd. We’ll move first thing tomorrow.”

With that, he turned and strode away. The kobold guards as well as Pudge followed. Meanwhile, Eveline said, “You really need to get better at making speeches.”

“You’re probably right,” he agreed. However, he expected that he’d never be much of an orator.

“Or you could just precede every speech with an attack. That way, you know you have their attention.”

He resisted the urge to sigh, but he had to admit that a little violence always made things easier. There was also something about it that called to him. Perhaps it was his simplistic nature, or maybe it was the fact that he’d been forced to fight almost constantly since being reborn, but he couldn’t deny that it felt good putting people in their place.

“The hideous joy of senseless violence,” Eveline said. “Delicious.”