After spending a couple of days getting his mind right, Zeke was finally ready to enter Hell. However, before he did so, he had a couple of other details begging for his attention. The most important was his relationship with Adara, which would have to be put on the backburner for quite some time. Certainly, while in Hell, he could still open a gate back to the Crimson Tower, but once he reached the Pit and began his descent, he would be entirely isolated.
“We’re not completely certain of that,” Eveline remarked as Zeke headed toward his quarters. “Just mostly.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he quickly found his way to the shower, where he cleaned an entire day’s worth of sweat from his long bout of meditation. He felt more at peace with himself than he had in a while, but he knew that wouldn’t last much longer. Never was that clearer than when he stepped out of the shower to find Adara waiting on him.
She crossed her arms, saying, “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”
“Soon,” he admitted, tossing his towel aside and gathering his clothes. As he dressed, he added, “I need to keep moving. We’ve talked about this.”
“Would it kill you to stick around for another month? Maybe even a year?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “Maybe.”
He’d told her the same things he’d explained to Eveline. He couldn’t afford to lose momentum, or he’d run the risk of never regaining it. And the notion of being stuck at the peak of the Eternal Realm for the rest of his life – which could be a long, long time – was a hell he didn’t want to contemplate. Even if he spent it with loved ones, his squandered potential would forever grate on him.
Even now, he sometimes found himself thinking about the life that was taken from him back on Earth. It didn’t happen often, but when the notion struck, he’d wonder what he could have been. Many of those thoughts – or psychological issues, if he was honest with himself – had been replaced by his quest to continue his climb through the realms, but if he lost that, he knew just how quickly he would descend into depression and regret.
And resentment.
He couldn’t do that to Adara or the other people he loved. They deserved his best self, and he wouldn’t rest until they got it.
Zeke had already explained as much to Adara – not as articulately, but when he tried to give voice to his thoughts, the result was often a tongue-tied half-explanation that failed to convey what was in his head – but she clearly hadn’t accepted it. Not entirely, at least.
But it couldn’t matter.
Zeke knew what he had to do, and he said, “My mind is made up on this. I want your support, but if you can’t give it…well, that sucks. It really does. I can’t let it derail me, though.”
“Of course you have my support,” she said, stepping closer. She draped her arms over his shoulders, lacing her fingers behind his neck. Then, she pulled herself closer, and suddenly, her lips were on his.
After that, they said a proper goodbye, and when they’d finished, Zeke found that he needed another shower. He took one, and when he stepped out and redressed, he found that Adara was gone. She’d already told him that she couldn’t watch him walk away. Instead, she preferred to distract herself from things she couldn’t change. Zeke accepted that about her, even if he didn’t think it was particularly healthy.
In any case, he’d delayed his departure for long enough, so after asking Eveline to arrange a meeting with his friends and companions, he headed to the Residential District, then to the Pillar.
“We’re not calling it that anymore,” Eveline told him.
“What are we calling it, then?”
“The Capital.”
“Creative,” he remarked, striding into the building.
“We thought so.”
“I was being sarcastic,” he stated.
“I’m aware,” she countered.
Zeke just sighed and continued on his way, eventually arriving in the conference room where most of the tower’s most pressing issues were addressed. There, he found his friends, including Pudge, Tucker, Talia, and Jasper. In addition, the kobolds were represented by Silik and Kianma, and the undead were represented by Baruk and Adriel, while a few beastkin he recognized but couldn’t name stood in for their race.
“Thank you all for coming,” he said, striding toward the head of the table. Once he reached his destination, he went on, “I called you here today because the day has come for me to continue my journey. I will be taking the portal into Hell later today. Before I go, I need to ensure that you all have everything in hand.”
While he was in Mal’canus, the Eternal Realm-equivalent of Hell, he could still summon his gates. However, the last thing he needed was to be distracted when he was in what amounted to enemy territory. Besides, the time it took him to find the Pit and make the journey was something of a dry run to make certain that they could handle his prolonged absence.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
He said as much, adding, “Once I’m in the Pit, I’m fairly sure that I won’t be able to use the gates. What’s more, I don’t know how long it’ll take to get to the bottom. For all I know, I’ll be down there for months.”
“Or years,” Eveline supplied, having appeared nearby. Everyone in the room was accustomed to her presence, so they didn’t even flinch at her sudden appearance. “It could be even longer.”
“Is that likely?” asked Talia.
Zeke shrugged. “We have no idea,” he admitted. “I don’t intend to take my time or anything, but this isn’t going to be a walk in the park. It’s going to take time. I need assurances that you all can handle it. Otherwise…”
He let that hang in the air, but it wasn’t really for effect. Rather, he wasn’t sure how he reacted if they told him they couldn’t live up to the standards he had in mind. He had no intention of delaying his descent, but he wasn’t sure if he could, in good conscience, choose otherwise if they couldn’t do what needed to be done.
“We can handle it,” said Kianma.
“I agree,” Silik stated.
The others voiced their agreement until Tucker just shrugged and said, “I don’t intend to do much except brew my potions. But if that’s all you expect of me, then that’s what I’ll do.”
Talia stated, “I wish to come with you.”
“You won’t survive the corruption,” Zeke pointed out.
“I will find a way.”
“No, Talia. You will literally die.”
“But –”
She ground her teeth together, then, without another word, left. She moved so quickly that no one even saw her leave.
“I can survive. I will go with you until you reach the Pit. Then, I will return here,” Pudge said. “The Inashi will come as well.”
Zeke didn’t particularly like that plan. He knew precisely how dangerous it would be in Hell, and as such, he wanted to go alone. For better or worse, additional people were more of a liability than anything else. A weakness for enemies to exploit. However, he couldn’t very well say that without driving a wedge between himself and his brother.
So, he said, “Fine. But just you and three Inashi. No more.”
Pudge nodded, then said, “I will go prepare. Do not leave without me.”
With that, he left Zeke alone with the rest of the tower’s ruling council. Jasper spoke up, saying, “For what it’s worth, I have no desire to go with you. But I do wish you luck, my friend. May you find whatever it is you’re looking for down there with all the demons and eternal torture.”
Zeke shook his head and gave a chuckle. “Hopefully, it won’t be as bad as all that.”
After that, the conversation turned to specifics. Most of it, Zeke tuned out. It had been quite some time since he’d taken an active hand in the city’s operation, and with his departure on the horizon, he had no desire to change that established pattern. Instead, he just listened, offering opinions when asked, until, at last, there was nothing left to discuss. When that happened, he took his leave, then headed to the Great Plaza – what had once been known as the Entry Hall – and made his way to the gate which would lead him back to Eldoria.
When he passed through, he saw what he’d expected. Pudge and three Inashi were waiting on him, though he was more interested in the reconstruction of the great city. That had been Eveline’s idea, and in retrospect, it made sense. The Crimson Tower would always be the hub of his kingdom, but they needed to integrate more accessible locations as well. So, they’d chosen Eldoria for their first city, but there were already preparations to take a larger hand in Westport.
But Zeke had nothing to do with any of that. He had intelligent and capable people to cover those sorts of things. For now, he only needed to focus on one thing – his upcoming passage into Hell.
To that end, he was silent as he and his retinue strode through Eldoria. The city itself was under reconstruction, but most of the population had been killed, captured, or joined the tower. So, it was like walking through a ghost town, though Zeke barely paid any attention to the deserted feeling.
After only a few minutes, they reached the citadel and strode through the gates. They were guarded by a couple dozen burly kobold centurions, largely because the contents were still being sorted. The Radiant Host had hoarded a lot of wealth over the years, so it took quite some time to categorize and repurpose everything.
Those efforts were obvious as they entered the citadel, because there were kobolds everywhere. Most were juveniles or Spiritweavers, but there were plenty of soldiers around as well. Zeke endured their worshipful bows and respectful mutterings of, “Ak-toh,” doing his best to ignore them.
Instead, he led Pudge and the three Inashi deeper and deeper into the citadel. Along the way, the tunnels and halls grew less defined and more ancient, and eventually, Pudge was forced by the low ceilings to duck. He didn’t complain, though. For his part, Zeke was happy that, as a cambion, he was much smaller than in his titanic form.
They followed the maze of halls for almost half an hour until, at last, they reached their destination, which was a large, perfectly circular chamber. The surface of the domed ceiling was covered in disgusting murals depicting all sorts of terrible tortures, while the center of the vast room featured a raised dais, around which were thirteen pillars. Atop those pillars were still-beating hearts that looked as if they’d come from giants.
Those had been there when Zeke arrived, and he had no idea how long they would continue to beat. What he did know was that they were the backbone upon which the entire ritual had been built.
Zeke was far more interested in the jagged rip in reality that stood at the center of the dais. The edges were ragged – as if someone had simply torn the air in two – and the interior was pitch black. However, the power wafting out of that gap was unmistakable.
Corruption.
Even if he hadn’t interrogated dozens of people that claimed it led to Hell, he would have known, just from the sulphuric stench. That was his path, and it was time he finally stepped through.
There were a dozen spiritweavers and hundred strong centurions stationed in the room, just to ensure that nothing made its way out. Nothing had so far, but there was no guarantee it would remain that way.
“Ak-toh,” said one of the spiritweavers. Her head was decorated with prominent plumes, which, from what he’d been told, was an indicator of great beauty among the kobolds. “Is it time?”
“It is,” he said. “After I step through, destroy the hearts. This portal cannot remain open. It is too big of a security risk.”
She probably didn’t agree with his decision – few did – but to her credit, the spiritweaver nodded, saying, “It will be as you command, Ak-toh.”
“Alright. No time like the present,” he said. Turning to Pudge, he asked, “You ready?”
“I have made all necessary preparations.”
The Inashi, as always, remained silent, but they nodded as well.
With that done, Zeke took a deep breath, used [Titan], and once the transformation was complete, strode forward. Without further hesitation, he ducked through the rip in reality, ready to begin his journey to the Pit.