ALL NOVEL 436. Thank You, Millord
Most races were humanoids of similar size. Some theorized that such form and height were better prepared to deal with a multiverse that just happened to be mainly of a specific size when all its physical and metaphysical forces interacted. That didn't mean a single race of big or small beings couldn't have more individuals than all other races combined in a universe, but that the standard seemed to be those the size of humans, elves, and so on.
Races of similar size tended to stay together for convenience's sake, even if they hated each other. Cylek was a city of human-sized humanoids. The Doombringer was the only half-titan Shen knew to reside in Cylek.
He wasn't miles tall; someone in his family tree had been a titan, but it was far detached from him. He was "only" twenty feet tall and seemed made of pure muscle. He never wore anything on his upper torso, revealing a tanned chest filled with scars. His chest-height white beard was tied on the edge, and his big ears each had a few hundred golden and red earrings. He had no eyebrow hair, only thick bones, nor hair on his head. His red eyes always seemed to be angry, but he was quick to smile. The Doombringer wasn't someone to hide his feelings or feel happiness was a weakness to be hidden.
The half-titan wore something that looked too much like cargo jeans and brown leather boots. He carried his big-ass scythe on his back, a weapon that looked simple, black wood and a thin metal blade, but that was one of the best peak-Overlord-tier artifacts in the whole Overlord Realm. The air simmered around it, and it wasn't out of heat. The thing distorted the Laws of Reality around it through sheer power. Such an effect was rare even in Seeker-tier artifacts, displaying how special the thing was.
Shen found the Doombringer sitting on a stall too small for him in a Japanese-style street fair, plus futuristic neon lights. Everyone in the fair knew to give a Demi-Dominator a wide berth. He didn't seem to care about being treated as a pest while he ate some noodles he had purchased from a pixie vendor who couldn't hide her unhappiness—after all, the Doombringer was scaring her business away.
He also scared any thread of Karma away from him, or so it looked like. He wasn't connected to anyone. Shen wasn't sure if he had Severed himself or used a special item or ability to accomplish it.
"...don't need to worry about repaying me with your esteemed presence, milord," she was saying as Shen approached. "This lowly one doesn't deserve your continued company."
"Nonsense!" the Doombringer replied with his deep and always loud voice as he threw the empty bowl the size of a watermelon on the counter. "It's delicious! You deserve my patronage! Another bowl!"
The diminutive pixie, an Overlord like almost everyone in the fair, at least suppressed her sigh before getting to work.
"And three normal-sized bowls, please," Shen said as he sat beside the Doombringer. Numbers Three and Four wanted to remain standing at a respectable distance, but Shen gave them a severe look and glanced at the stalls beside him. They got the message and sat down.
The vendor sighed in relief that she would make another sale today and smiled briefly at Shen before placing a few bowls beside the big one she was preparing.
The half-titan turned to Shen and laughed. "Look who's here! I knew you would come to me after you bankrupted yourself!" He slapped Shen's back with way too much strength. Shen had to use qi not to be sent packing.
"The news already reached you, milord?" Shen replied respectfully.
Interacting with the Doombringer wasn't easy. He saw random things as polite or rude. Standing while he was sitting was disrespectful, even if you meant it as a sign of respect. Calling him Milord was polite, but calling him anything more polished, like "Your Grace," was a grave offense.
Nobody liked how annoying he was, but he was living proof that "might makes right." Even Demi-Dominators who didn't want to antagonize him could only accept and live with his whims.
"News? What news?" the Doombringer asked, and Shen couldn't tell if he was lying about being ignorant of his matters.
"I was attacked and lost my investment in Alvirtue Parts. I also lost Symphonia. As you guessed, Milord, I'm broke and need an investor."
"You lost Alvirtue?" He laughed mockingly as he picked up the new bowl the pixie served. "Did you at least kill a Demi-Dominator to make up for your loss?"
Shen passed two bowls to the lavils and started eating his own noodles. Peak-Conceptualizer-tier noodles were somehow relatively cheap in Cylek. They were also delicious.
"No, Milord. The strongest enemy I felled was a mere Lawful Dominator like me. He claimed he was working for the Shav Gang. Even if he were lying, someone is scheming against Blackhall. I need resources to prepare for the incoming war."
The half-titan said nothing for a while, focusing on eating. He finished, put the bowl down, and kept silent for a while. Then, he asked, "How about your girl? I heard she's making more money than I."
That he knew about that was slightly troublesome. E'livia should be hiding it better than that. She had a leak, and the Doombringer gave Shen a great gift in letting him know.
The negotiation had barely started, and Shen already owed the guy.
The Dombringer had risen up by brute-forcing his way through, and he was known to have no sensibility for even the most basic politics. But whenever anyone took advantage of him, someone else soon spilled the beans. The Doombringer was never forgiving when that happened. So, whether the Doombringer knew about the favor he was bestowing was irrelevant to the negotiation. Shen would have to repay him for that.
Shen replied, "E'livia and I weren't lying about our self-imposed limitations, Milord. I won't ask her for any assistance."
The half-titan looked at Numbers Three and Four. "Black and silver looks good. But my colors are blue, brown, and red. Pick one."
"Black and red can be a good match, Milord," Shen replied with a smile.
"Humph." He threw a black card on the stall. It looked too small on his big hands. "I'm paying for them."
The pixie smiled happily at the money and the fact that the Demi-Dominator was leaving. "Thank you for your patronage!" she sang as she scanned the card for the cost of the meals.
"Thank you, Milord," Shen said.
"Get the card," the Doombringer said as he stood up. "It's yours now. Spend however much you wish. One month of service in the Overlord Realm for every low-Overlord-tier artifact."
Shen grabbed the card and stood up to follow him. "One week for every peak-Overlord-tier artifact, Milord."
The Doombringer laughed. "Someone thinks high of himself! Your quote is acceptable for a Demi-Dominator. Become one, then. If not, you'll do as I said."
"Of course, Milord."
They walked in silence up to an artificial lake nearby. The Doombringer got to the deck, took off his boots, and sat down with his feet on the water. He looked up at the stars being projected by enchantments. They were in the fourth city level. There were two more above them.
Shen did the same thing to avoid offending the half-titan. He also nodded to his followers to leave the area. Lavils and water didn't mix well, and the vapor might offend the Doombringer; who knows? It was better for them to scatter than keep guard while standing up and definitely offending the guy.
"I love this place," the half-titan said. "Peaceful."
"It is pleasant indeed, Milord."
"Pleasant?" He scoffed. "No. It reminds me of how much I still have to destroy. I bring Doom upon Reality. Haven't you heard?"
Shen raised an eyebrow. "I thought that title came from the terror you impart upon your foes, Milord."
"They would have to survive to call me anything, boy. You and your woman are too new in Cylek. You haven't uncovered the right secrets yet. It's alright. Your enemy just hunkered down since he arrived and knows too little, too. He won't prostrate himself before you and beg forgiveness when he hears I'm involved."
Another surprise. Shen tensed and asked, "Should he do that, Milord?"
"I'm not a liar, boy. I'm as stupid as everyone says I am. I mean, I just don't care about pesky intrigue. Or power. Be fair to me, and I'll be fair to you. Respect me, and I'll respect you. I saw your Path when you arrived in Cylek. You're different but similar. That's what I like about you."
Shen shook his head. "I appreciate your kindness, Milord. But I must admit I fail to see where this conversation is going."
He chuckled. "See? You're like me but different. Not all conversations must go somewhere, boy. You need a friend. Someone you aren't fucking or bossing around. You have a woman and subordinates, but you're lonely. So am I. Power does that. Then again, destroying everything around you also does that, I suppose."
Shen frowned. "Did you also destroy your former friends, Milord?"
"What?" He chuckled again. "No, boy. I bring Doom to Reality, not the people in Reality. I'm an Idealist. Like you." That confirmed to Shen that the Doombringer had Severed himself, though knowing he meant to walk the Grand Path of Ideals was news. "And my Will is one of Power. Like yours."
That man could tell people's Will? Shen froze and prepared to flee and call E'livia. Telling people's Will was impossible. Should be impossible, at least.
Unless...
"You're a Realizator," Shen deadpanned.
"Not yet. I'm a Lawful Realizator. I Realized my Path at the Overlord level, though I have yet to use it. They are blocked in the Overlord Realm."
So, this man was as talented and powerful as Liya had been. Actually, probably stronger because he had been a Lawful Realizator for so long already. His inability to use his Realization gave E'livia a chance if they ever faced each other, but Shen guessed the things he could perceive about the world and how he thought gave him an edge.
Shen stopped his plans to call for backup but got even readier to flee.
"Why are you telling me this, Milord?"
"Because I also need a friend. And a disciple. Power... Power is the reason for my existence, yet it isn't everything. Paradoxal, right? I learned that too late. I didn't bring Doom to my friends because I never had any." He paused. "I need a friend... And I need help in my revenge. I don't think I have enough potential to bring Doom to all Reality. But I must bring Doom to the Shaft."
Shen didn't even know where to start. He was confident the Shaft's Divine Mandatary could tell whenever anyone in the Shaft directed ill intentions towards him. He didn't want to be associated with something like this.
"Relax, boy! I'm telling you this to show you my intentions! No true friendship can start any other way! I won't hide something that might hurt you later."
Shen forced himself to relax. Fleeing from a Lawful Realization would already be impossible, much less from the Shaft's Divine Mandatary. That guy didn't have any limitations on his power when he visited any Realm. Shen would be obliterated before he could blink if the Mandatary really wanted to kill him.
The Doombringer continued, "I know the bastard at the top. He won't kill those associated with me just because they are associated with me. And he's like me, you know? He wants a challenge. He'll let me grow—and any ally grow, for that matter—until we commit actual treason or bring the fight him. He's bored. He told me so the day he destroyed my life. He let me live because my anger was so great after he killed my whole family for treason and because he saw potential in me."
Shen frowned. "That is... Evil."
"Damn right, it is. I'm not the only one he did it to, either; I found three others in Cylak alone. I don't hate him for the justice he dispensed. My family did commit treason. No, I hate him because he let me live to fight him. I hate that this is the only Path I want, too. I hate it all. And so, I use my hatred as fuel for my Doom."
Shen understood the half-titan. A bastard had come and changed the half-titan's entire life, then played with it. The Doombringer was trapped in his own feelings, walking a Path someone else wanted him to, with no actual choice in the matter. Oh, theoretically, he could forgive and forget. But that wasn't his personality, and the Mandatary likely could see that when he spared the boy. Which made the Mandatary even worse of a schemer.
But Shen didn't focus on that. It might be a lie. It might be true. It didn't matter; he was too weak to do anything about it.
He said, "We can talk about revenge after I become a Realizator. What do you need from a friend, Milord?"
There was no extensive reasoning behind his words or intentions. The Doombringer might be incorrect in saying Shen needed a friend, but Shen certainly wanted one.
E'livia was great, but they were lovers, not best friends. They trusted each other with their lives but couldn't say everything in their hearts to each other. E'livia, especially, was too hurt and dealing with too much; she needed time, and Shen needed to help her deal with that before she was ready to deal with his own troubles. Or, more specifically, more of his problems. She had already done too much for him; he had to repay her back before burdening her with other things.
For instance, he couldn't burden her with his anxiety about dying and leaving her alone in an alien world; she had enough of that already, and he could only keep comforting her. She also didn't need to know he would risk his sanity by growing too fast in the war both because he wanted to prove himself. She would say he didn't need to prove anything to her, and she would be both right and wrong. He meant to prove it to himself before anything, but while he was okay with being weaker than her, he couldn't accept being a useless garden flower forever.
A true friendship with someone who saw the world similarly to how Shen sounded good. Shen wanted that. The question was: what exactly was friendship for the finicky Doombringer?