Rilm, the draconid Arch-deacon, was the first person to respond to the sudden appearance of the ducol. "Name yourself! You stand before the highest authority in the land, as ordained by the High Deity!"

The ducol had no facial features. In fact, Jack saw that its whole body was nothing more than a crude approximation of a human. But he could feel the ducol direct his attention onto the man. It was electric and powerful, the static that Jack had experienced during the weeks-long stormclouds settled onto Rilm. Sparks danced across the scaled figure, and he cried out in surprise and pain at the sudden shocks.

"Deis is not here. Nor would he punish me if I chose to strike you down." Lightning suddenly rippled from the ducol, striking the ground around him at random. No one was hurt, but the display of power served to intimidate everyone present. "I am Sotdgwnilttb." the name came out as more of an intelligible rumble than an actual word. If Jack hadn't seen it spelled out, he wouldn't have known what the ducol was saying. "However it might be easier for you all to refer to me as Bob."

Jack experienced a moment of mental disconnect as he absorbed that. Bob? What kind of name for a god was Bob?

As if sensing his internal complaint, Bob added an addendum. "I was once called Robert, but that part of me was stripped away. I am simply Bob now."

Rilm, still recovering from the sudden and harsh attention of Bob, sat on the ground shivering and staring at a scar in the ground made by the random lightning strikes. Braith stood and took a small, hesitant step forward. "Bob, it is clear to see that you are a being of incredible power. No one here would doubt your might. But, I find it difficult to believe that you can speak for the High Deity. Even going so far as to invoke his holy name in front of two Arch-deacons...I ask you to explain yourself." The words were polite, but the tone was not. Braith was seething despite her obvious fear. She knew that opposing Bob would likely kill her, but she believed in the High Deity enough to try and defend her beliefs.

Bob's attention focused on her, though much less intensely than it had focused on Rilm. She stiffened visibly at the sudden feeling of static drifting across her skin. "I am the god who once worked alongside Deis. We crafted this world together and ruled it for a time. It was after he betrayed and stripped me of much of my power that he took the self-proclaimed title, God of gods."

To Jack's knowledge, there were no records of anything like the story that came out of Bob's mouth. Everything he had ever been told about the True Church indicated that the only major world religion was by Deis, for Deis. The only reason it was called the 'True Church' was because the only other religions out there were tiny, insignificant things that dabbled in strange rituals. The idea of a second god, one equal to Deis, was absurd.

Braiths body tensed even more, and she practically stood on tiptoes as every part of her tried to flex and straighten out. Her face stormed for a moment before she made an obvious effort to return her face to neutrality. "I'm afraid I don't believe you, Bob." She practically spat his name out, her voice dripping with hostility. "After all, the High Deity has declared that he has been, and always will be, the one and only God to ever exist. So it's impossible for you to be anything even remotely like a god."

Jack could see the assembled knights and priests of the church begin to gather themselves. A few faltered here and there, but the majority of them seemed to find their strength at Braith's words. After all, in their eyes, Bob couldn't be a god. That meant that he was simply another Heretic to be put down.

Bob's attention suddenly left Braith and settled on Jack. It was unnerving that the feeling of being observed could suddenly switch without any indication. It was clear that Bob was aware of everything around him, and that his 'attention' was nothing more than an indicator of who he was speaking to, but Jack still grew slightly nervous at the sudden electricity.

"Jack, I came because you wished for a discussion. I would not have intervened this way unless your life was in a significant amount of danger. Do not mistake my presence as a deterrent. Once we are done with our discussion, I will leave you to conclude this situation with your own power. Let us speak quickly so that I may return to my duties."

Jack's heart fell slightly at the knowledge that the former god wouldn't help him, but he quickly discarded the feeling. There was work to do, and this conversation might serve as collateral for the church to leave him unharmed. "Thank you for coming, Bob. I wished to discuss the ramifications of Deis' situation."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The members of the church bristled as Jack used the name of their god so casually, but he ignored them. Bob also didn't seem to care about their response. "So there was an effect? Explain it to me quickly."

"People aren't reincarnating. Their souls remain trapped in the white void, unable to pass. Apparently, it was a task that Deis performed personally, and now that he's-" Jack tried to remember the language that Bob had used in their last meeting, "now that he's still, I'm afraid that this could break everything."

Braith and Rilm stared bug-eyed at Jack, confusion on their faces as they regarded him. Bob thrummed slightly, a sound like very quiet thunder emanated from his body. "You were right to call for me, that is problematic."

"Can you reincarnate them?" The question burst from his mouth. This was Jack's last hope, a desperate idea that this powerful being might be able to perform the task in Deis' place. If this didn't work...

"No, I cannot."

The words were like a hammer blow. All the feelings Jack had experienced today, the rage, despair, hope, and desperation all crumbled away. If Bob couldn't solve this, then that meant only Deis could. It would mean waking the god. It would mean Jack's death.

Just as Jack gave up though, Bob said something to fill him with hope again. "But I know of a possible solution." He waited for the ducol to say more, but a long, quiet moment passed between them.

It was during this pause that Braith finally decided to intervene. "Someone explain what is going on, right now! Or I will have my men start killing the mercenaries." Jack glanced over and saw that many of the mercs were still bound, but now there were knights roughly grabbing them and holding swords menacingly to their necks.

Jack looked back at Bob, but the humanoid cloud didn't seem inclined to explain. Jack thought about lying, but the situation before him was already so chaotic that he didn't think it really mattered anymore. The church would likely try to kill him no matter what he said, so telling the truth couldn't hurt too much. "The High Deity is in a magically induced coma. I was the one who put him in it, and I'm the only one who can pull him back out of it."

Braith gawked at Jack, sputtering and stuttering as she tried to respond to the insane statement. Rilm stepped forward, speaking for only the second time tonight. "A coma? How is that even possible?" The draconid looked genuinely confused, as if he couldn't believe that Deis could suffer from ill effects.

"I used the system. I removed the skills that allow him to think and act." The words struck the air, and everyone around Jack looked at him in horror. Knights took a step back, the mercenaries flinched at his glances, and the Arch-deacons recoiled as if he were a poisonous snake. Bob didn't react, apparently still deep in contemplation. "It was self-defense, he was going to destroy my soul, as well as the would of PLexion, former King of all demons."

Like a one-two punch landing, the Arch-deacons recoiled again as if struck. The situation was falling apart, and Jack still desperately needed to get the mercenaries to safety. He used the bombardment of revelations to quickly command Alpha. The butterfly expanded outward, rapidly grabbing every individual present. In seconds, Jack managed to secure every single person around him except for Bob. Every limb and mouth was bound, keeping anyone from using magic or swinging a weapon.

Jack let out a relieved sigh. At least no one here was in any more danger. But just as Jack allowed himself to relax a fraction, a voice emerged from the crowd. Jack's voice. "Firebolt!"

A small mass of flame slammed into Jack, knocking him to the ground and blasting part of his arm away. Jack quickly threw up a defense screen in the direction the attack had come from before whipping his head around to try and see the assailant. His eyes settled on Mills, the mercenary who couldn't speak that Jeler had introduced to him weeks ago. He was bound in place near Zrez and the other betrayers. As Jack watched stupefied, Mills wiggled his fingers and Jack's voice emerged again. "Firebolt!"

Bolt after bolt flew at Jack as he quickly made a screen wall between himself and the merc. Jack had talked to Deis about giving mute people the ability to speak for using skills. Mills must have learned to use basic bolt spells since then, able to learn and cast due to the system change. But why was he attacking Jack? Why had he sided with Zrez and the others? Jack didn't know, and he wouldn't be able to find out quickly. He made a snap decision and had Alpha form into a cacoon around Mills, preventing any magic from striking him.

Jack examined his body. The one firebolt that had hit him had damaged his clockwork section. Several gears were sticking out, not ticking or turning at all. That was probably pretty bad, but Jack had no idea how bad. He needed to resolve the situation quickly, then return to the bore-bots to get fixed up.

Jack was tired, so tired of all this stuff happening to him. He picked himself up off the ground, his body creaking ominously as he did so. He made his way over to Bob. "I need an answer, Bob. How do we fix this mess?"

Bob did not turn his attention to Jack, possibly sensing that he might harm the injured bore-bot body. He only spoke a simple sentence. "We need another God to do it for us."