He gazed at me for a moment, and his black eyes flickered. "First, let me address the fact that you have brought a Nephilim here." He turned his head towards Nemesis.
I shifted in my seat and gazed at him. I hoped he wouldn't lay a hand on her. I didn't think I could beat him in a fight. He turned his gaze back to me and leaned forward on his desk and laced his fingers together. "I personally don't care. Malek has already told me about it. It was a bold move. Nephilim were known for their combat prowess. Did you know Malek still employs a Nephilim? Chances are you already know his name."
I felt the muscles on my face twitch as I thought back to my time on earth. Looking back while knowing what I did now made me question the validity of everything, but what did it really matter, after all, I am a new person.
I went through my memories and thought about my old religion, but I was never really well versed in the topic. "I'm not quite sure. There are a few possibilities, but I am not sure of the correct answer."
He bobbed his head, "His name is Lucifer. He is Malek's right hand. I would suggest having the two get together. Though fair warning, he is from another era, and considering what I have seen from her character sheet, I am not sure how the two will interact. But it will be a good thing for her. Would you like me to send him a message and see what he says?"
I nodded my head in response to him. "Yes. As far as she knows, she is the only one of her kind. It would be good for her to see another Nephilim, regardless of how they act when they meet."
I saw him make a quick movement and then a dismissive gesture right after. "That is done. If he replies before we are done here, I'll let you know. However, until you are strong enough to defend yourself, try not to flaunt her. We are pretty opened minded here in the guild; however, we still do have our enemies."
I glanced over to Nemesis to check on her sleeping form. "I will consider it, thank you for that Thalmius."
He waved his hand, " It’s no problem, we look after our own here. Now let's discuss why you really came here. What role do you want to perform here in our guild? I have spots open for our military and research departments at the moment. We have a spot opening up for crafting and architecture as well."
I thought over his options for a moment. I have never really been the research type, so I crossed that off my mental list and thought about crafting and architecture. While it did seem fun, it didn't fall in line with what I was trying to accomplish in my new life.
"I will join the military department then."
He gave me a wide fanged smile and typed something into his screen. A moment later, a notification appeared for me.
Guild status updated. You have been promoted to the rank of soldier.
"Alright, now we need to decide on your specialty. What did you decide on for your paths of power?" Thalmius asked me as I saw him make a quick movement with his hand.
"Godhood, Monster, and Oblivion Remnant." He tore his gaze from his screen and stared inquisitively at me for a moment.
"That is a rather unusual set. What are you planning on doing?"
I sat back in my seat and chuckled at him. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure. Godhood was chosen for me, The path of the Monster seemed interesting, and I only chose the path of Oblivion because nothing else seemed to fit me."
Thamlius let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose and scrunched his eyes closed. "In all my years, I have never heard of someone choosing the Path of the Oblivion Remnant for such a stupid reason."
I gave him a shrug, I mean, hopefully, I was done making stupid choices.
"But anyway, now that I know that, what are your goals and plans for the future? What path do you want to walk as an Administrator?"
I pondered his words for a moment and chose mine carefully. "I decided when I chose the Path of Oblivion, that I wanted to defend all life. I want to be able to support the helpless. Originally I wanted only to defend humanity, but now that I am here and have experienced life as an Administrator, I have started to understand how cold this universe is."
Thalmius let out a small grunt of approval. "Yeah, I see that champion of humanity title. That is quite the honor. So, you want to defend what you create. But what else? Are you willing to kill other Administrators to achieve that end?"
I nodded my head, "I have never had to take a life, but if I need to do it, I will attempt it."
"Taking life at first isn't easy. It is a good thing that you haven't had to experience it before. You know how pure life is now that you have given it. Taking it away is a hard part, but you will learn that over time. The universe has no place for kind-hearted beings."
"I have come to that conclusion a little while ago, myself. I need to get stronger; I need to get better if I hope to survive."
He gave me a respectful nod. "Ah. I see you are already growing. In that case, I will make you a striker. You will partake in offense operations if needed and will assist in defensive efforts as well."
A moment later, my screen lit up with a notification.
You have been promoted to Trial Striker.
"Thalmius, what is a Trial Striker?"
"Oh, that is a temporary measure. If you are a good fit, you will be promoted to a full-blown striker. If not, then we can reconvene and decide where to place you next."
I nodded my head and glanced over to Nemesis and saw that she was still breathing. "So what will my roles and responsibilities be as a striker? I know you said offensive and defensive stuff, but what else do they do?"
"Well, whenever a guild member gets invaded by someone, you go to their aide. If we decide to go to war with another large guild, then you will be part of the vanguard—other than that, miscellaneous stuff. Come in time to time, meetings, questions, and all the other fun stuff. We don't really go to war all that often, so, really, you are just in a defensive role for the time being."
I glanced over to Nemesis and saw her start to stir from her sleep. "Damn, that was a nasty drink. Remind me never to touch it again." She let out a groan and sat forward, wiping her eyes.
Thalmius chuckled profoundly and sat back in his seat. His serious demeanor melted off of him and was replaced by his original joyous one when we first met. "It puts hair on ya chest if you ask me. But anyway now that you are awake, I do have a bit of a surprise for ya. Malek said he needed to drop by the guild H.Q anyways, and he will bring Lucifer. So let me take ya up to the combat room, and then if you have time, I'll show you around."
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Father, who is Lucifer?" Nemesis asked me as she stood up out of the chair and rested her hand over her eyes. Poor girl, I think this was her first hangover.
"That is a surprise. Anyways Thalmius, show us around. I want to see this place. I also have a few questions as well."
He stood up and reached into a cabinet behind him and pulled out a bottle of water and threw it over to Nemesis. "There ya go. Going to need that Nemesis. But yes, what are your questions," he asked me as he walked over to the door and waved his hand over the front of it.
Nemesis caught the water bottle, and I stood up and walked over to the door. "First, what architecture is this? It seems angelic, but all the motifs I've seen seem nowhere as advanced as this."
Thalmius quickly replied to me as we walked back into the lobby. "This is the pinnacle of angelic architecture. Sadly, however, you won't find anything else in this galaxy like this."
"Why is that?" I asked him as we rapidly approached the large staircase that leads up to the second floor.
"The blasted High Elf Administrators. They have been on genocide for the last few eons. The demons have all but been wiped out. The Nephilim have perished, and the Angels are close to following them."
"So is it all the High Elves that are doing this, or is it just a small faction?" I asked him as we reached what looked like an elevator. It was a large circular platform that hovered a few feet off of the ground and sat at the very bottom of a clear tube.
"It's a few large factions that are doing it. Not all High Elves are bad, but sadly, not many are left that can fight against them. Thankfully Alpha instilled peacetime measures. It gave us a while to recuperate our losses, but now since the Andromeda galaxy is closing in on us, Alpha had no choice but to reinstate his wartime protocols. Sadly the High Elves are going to renew their war efforts. So just stay ready." As he spoke to me, he reached a hand up to a floating screen and quickly typed in a command.
The elevator smoothly started to rise and slowly started to speed up.
"Wait, did the High Elves kill my race, or was it the Angels and Demons?" Nemesis spoke up from beside me as she finally started to get over her hangover.
"From what I remember, the birth of your race caused a civil war between the two. Fighting your race took a lot out of the Angels and Demons, though I think the High Elves were the ones that mopped up the last few planets that held your race."
I felt a wave of anger pulse off of her, "Then they will burn." I rested my hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. I felt her relax slightly, and Thalmius gave out a hearty laugh.
"You got fire, kid. I can appreciate that. Just don't lose it." The elevator came to a quiet halt, and we all stepped off of it and into a large room. The ceiling was composed of nothing but glass that let the burning white sunlight through. Pressed against the walls were large platforms that had glass planes protecting the front. They overlooked a central area that had a flat cobalt blue floor. The walls themselves were pulsing with power and had mana points at various points throughout the room. From what I could tell, each mana point was used to open a door, so I guessed that the place would expand even further if need be.
Thalmius cleared his throat, "Let's stick close to the wall, just because we can't see them doesn't mean anybody isn't on the training field. I would hate for you to get blasted by a stray spell or a sword in the back by accident." We walked close to the wall and into a small little hallway that had the same glass-like substance on the side. Shortly after we got in, the hall shook as a blast of black fire smashed into the glass and left a small black spot.
Nemesis and I jumped back and quickly looked over the training field, but there was no one to be seen. "Like that, my friends," Thalmius told us as we both calmed down and increased our pace. We made it to a set of stairs that lead up to the observation platforms, and a chrome door stood at the top of the steps. Thalmius reached it and waved his hand across one of the mana points, and the door shattered and melted into the door frame. We beckoned us in, and I saw Malek and another unfamiliar gentlemen sitting in a set of curved chairs that lacked a complete back and instead had a single thin bar that molded to your back. They were bone white and a soft blue cushion and seemed to be securely fastened on the floor.
"Malek, I have brought them," Thalmius called out to him as we approached them. Malek flashed us a quick smile. I saw that he was wearing a different set of clothing than the last time I saw him. He wore a simple black tee-shirt and a pair of wrinkle-free blue jeans. He gave me a broad smile and reached out his hand.
"Kairos, it is good to see you. How are you doing, my friend?"
"I am well. Still learning, but I think I am finally getting somewhere." I told him as we all took a seat together.
"I see. Who is your beautiful friend here?" He asked as he turned his attention over to Nemesis, who promptly blushed at his words.
"My name is Nemesis, and I am the goddess of justice and retribution." She told him as she reached out her hand. He took it and looked her over for a moment.
"Kairos, you did a pretty bang-up job on her. Everything seems to be in proportion on her. She is the Nephilim, right?" Nemesis sat there and squirmed slightly in her chair as Malek looked her over.
"Yes. She is my firstborn goddess, and first of the Nephilim, or at least I thought she was until I found out about Lucifer." Malek gave me a curt nod and gestured over to the gentleman standing beside him.
The man looked old. His face was torn and scarred. One eye had a scar running down the length of it and ended just above his lip. His only open eye was the color of a fading periwinkle, which was more grey than anything else, though light traces of blue could be seen mixing with the others. His hair hung down to his shoulders and was predominantly white with some black highlights. He wore a form-fitting robe that had a zipper that ran diagonally across his chest. He stood next to Malek and radiated a wave of confidence and regality that not even Helios could match.
His robe was cloud grey, and the only visible seams were the ones that connected the zipper to the fabric. He wore a pair of track pants that were the color of charcoal and clung gently to his legs and stopped right at the start of his light grey sneakers.
"Kairos, this is Lucifer Vestarus. He is my right hand and the last remaining Nephilim from before the fall." Lucifer turned his head to gaze at me, and I saw his age reflect in his look. He seemed so old, yet in his gaze, I felt nothing but raw and overwhelming power tinted by anger that I felt tear at the depths of my soul.
He gave me a curt bow after a moment and spoke softly, "It brings my family honor to see that my kind has a progenitor once more, and it brings joy to my heart to see that my kind is returning."
When he spoke, I noticed that he said his family, it made me curious as to what his past was. I went to speak when I heard Nemesis say, "Wait, Lucifer is a Nephilim?" She shot up and threw her arms around him. "I thought I was going to be alone for ages.
A look of discomfort shot across Lucifer's face as she threw her hands around him, and then it vanished, and he gently patted her back. I could see scars and wrinkles crossing the back of his hands, along with visible veins. However, the single most eye-catching, though, was a unique ring that sat on his right hand. It was a simple onyx ring that reflected the light. The band came up and was chiseled away at the top, revealing the head of a single bird that looked like a raven. Maybe that was some sort of signet or family crest?
He patted her back and pushed her away gently. "There, there, sister. No need to get emotional." She visibly pouted at that and stepped away from him.
"I'm sorry, Lucifer I was just slightly excited to see another of my kind. I was under the impression I was the last one."
I saw his face twitch slightly as the two interacted. It made me curious as to what was going on in his head.
"No need to apologize. I understand. Let us descend to the dueling area; there are some things I wish to teach you, one Nephilim to another." He told her as he pressed his wrinkled hand to her back and guided her down the stairs.
"Will she be okay, Malek?" I asked him as I shifted my gaze over to him. For a brief moment, I saw a look of pride on his face. The look a father would give a son, who just accomplished a significant task.
"She will be. The guild training hall is much like the control room training area. Neither will die, but they will still feel pain." I glanced out towards the training room and watched as they talked to each other as they started to reach one of the combat areas.
"I am just glad that she got to meet another one of her kind. Maybe she won't feel so alone." I told him as I glanced back at Malek. His face shifted back into one of indifference as he nodded his head.
"I agree, though, since she is a Nephilim, he is going to test her. He won't go easy on her in their sparring session."
"Why is he testing her?" I asked him as I felt my curiosity start to grow, though, in my heart, I began to feel worried, as I didn't want to see her get hurt.
"Well, allow me to tell you who Lucifer is. We have a while to talk before they fight, Nephilim take their duels very seriously, and he will want to teach her all of the proper etiquette involving it first. "
I nodded my head in agreement and settled into my seat and prepared myself to listen to his story.