Chapter 180

“Slayfather, the advance force has launched their assault on the natives.” Peskus bowed at the waist, black tailcoat billowing in the wind as he and his superior officer stood atop a huge half-flesh half-machine abomination that was burrowing itself into the coastal cliff face. It mutated and convulsed, but took care not to dislodge any of the many tens of thousands of people still inside the construct.

It was a living fortress created from a combination of unholy and machine foundational pillars, with huge spires, battlements, guns and steam-punk defensive tech mounted at intervals all along the outer wall. Tunnels were being dug, causing the ground to shudder while the drills went to work - but soon the entire cliff would be one big defensive layer that would be almost impenetrable to any army without immense casualties.

The slayfather glanced back from underneath his black tophat, red eyes narrowed while he supported himself with his intricate cane. Not that he needed to, it was more of a fashion statement than anything else. “Are the harvesters with them?”

“They are.” Peskus said, keeping himself bowed and blinking through one monocle. “The first order of business, as you instructed, was to acquire a food source. That’s what they set out to do. We sent them to a merfolk lair to the north, and after that they are to travel to a coastal city run by humans. Our scouts indicate it’s prime real estate with lots of cattle for the picking, and I do know how you like your humans.”

The slayfather grinned, displaying his vampiric fangs. Holding up one steampunk gauntlet, that ticked with a compass of some sort in the backside of his hand, he nodded enthusiastically. “Oh I haven’t had one of those in days… that sounds rather good right now. Once they’re back, bring me the fattest, most plump human you can find - I feel like gorging myself right about now and I am oh so weary of the nargles we’ve had to settle with due to food shortages back home in Rippenvire.”

***

At Lahn’s request, Riven had force-fed Gleetus a couple healing potions and stabilized the man while Allie and Fay performed the ritual. It was a lot of chanting, sitting, praying, and hand gestures that Riven simply found boring.

But it was working.

He casually watched from the sidelines next to a cowering, sniveling Gleetus on the floor. Hands clasped behind his back, Riven stared at Lahn’s body as the young man groaned and occasionally whimpered in pain - yet his necrotic, unnatural rot was beginning to fade away. It was being replaced with new skin, and his mother Shovi was hysterically crying in the hallway - having removed herself after being overcome with emotion that her son was going to be cured of the ailment that’d plagued him nearly his entire life.

Internally glancing at his soul aperture where the crystal flower he’d recently eaten - a piece of Gaia’s soul - was wrapped around Athela’s core piece, he saw the piece flare with pulsing light again. It’d done that a few times now, and her soul piece was beginning to grow larger - exponentially so. Whereas it’d only been a spec when he’d first got it, the soul piece was now a fourth of the size of his core.

Riven smiled. He was excited to see his friend again.

A draconic roar, and then the sound of large talons crashing into the ground outside caused Riven’s head to turn slightly. Casually walking to the window, he saw Allie’s undead pet drake. Its black wings were marked with glowing neon-teal veins, bones created most of its body with black strings of mana and neon-teal miasma shimmering off of the huge creature. He’d remembered that fight - before it’d become an undead toy. It’d been a hard thing to kill, but what was it doing here?

“Allie isn’t that your new pet?” Riven asked with a sidelong glance, but Allie shushed him even despite the lumbering creature that shook the ground with every step - causing the people downstairs to scream in horrified echoing cries. “Allie, seriously your pet is here.”

Allie huffed loudly in irritation and stood up, ending the chant while Fay continued on with it almost in a trance-like state. Walking over to the window as Shovi looked open-mouthed at the huge skeletal dragon head staring in with one eye taking up the entire viewpoint - Allie pushed the glass open and angrily grumbled at the monster. “Tyranus, this better be good! You KNOW you’re not supposed to come here in broad daylight - even if the king DID tell the fleet to let you through! And you’re SUPPOSED to be guarding Dungeon Alibast so the elves stop enslaving dryads!”

Tyranus? So that’s what she’d named it.

Riven chuckled at the dumb expression the creature gave her for being chided, but perhaps that was all in his head. Gleetus screamed and wet himself when he saw the huge drake after sparing a peaking glance - and one of the maids ran up the stairs to report the huge monster in a panic only to swoon when she saw the huge head staring into Lahn’s room.

When the drake spoke, his words were deep and raspy - but boomed loud enough for everyone in the house to hear them. “I was told to come by Gaia, to send you a message.”

“Well spit it out then. What’s Gaia’s message?” Allie said, tapping her foot impatiently.

The drake paused, cocking his head as if trying to remember what the fae goddess had imparted to him. “A new enemy approaches.”

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Allie and Riven both exchanged looks.

“That’s surely not all she said.” Riven stated flatly. “What else?”

The drake’s pale eye shifted to Riven, then back to Allie. “A wave of death unsettles the land, imbalances nature, and culls the living. She says that you are needed on the coast, that an independent city state is now fighting for their lives against something called Rippenvire - one of the outworld factions. They are here, and soon they will head inland to slaughter our own citizens if you choose not to take the fight to them now. Gaia says they are strong, and many, and that if you cannot defeat them - that perhaps seeing what they are capable of is itself a boon to use for later when the time is right.”

Allie frowned deeply, rubbing at her chin. “One of the invading forces is already at our southern coast? Isn’t there a town there controlled by Dawn?”

“T-There is…” Shovi cut in from behind at the doorway, still hesitantly peaking in due to the huge skull-faced drake at the window.

“But the city being attacked is independent?” Riven asked, confused. “Do we know of any city states along the coast nearby?”

No one said anything, until Shovi cleared her throat. “There was a recently confirmed report of such a city further south… but it’s over two hundred miles from here. That’s what my husband told me, we don’t know much about them yet.”

Again, Allie and Riven exchanged glances.

“Tyranus…” Allie said slowly, turning to the large beast in the window. “Do you know where it is, exactly?

“I do not.” immediately replied the drake.

Frowning, Allie sighed. “Alright. Riven? Want to join me on a little scouting expedition?”

Riven nodded. “Certainly. Tweedle, John, you’re to stay with Fay and make sure her ritual goes according to plan.”

Out of the shadows, a skresh assassin alongside a human rogue nodded and knelt.

“Yes my king.” The skeletal skresh assassin said, bone hand clasped against his heart and hooded head bowed. “Nothing will befall her.”

“The boy will continue the ritual as planned. We will take care of the worm when it arrives…” the human rogue trailed off, setting his eyes on Gleetus who sat dumbstruck that there’d been two other stealthed people in the room without him even knowing. “And if this one causes problems, I’ll just cut out off his head.”

“I very much like that idea.” Riven replied with a chuckle. Walking over to where Fay was glaring up at him, giving him a pouting expression despite continuing to chant and make motions with her hands amidst flickering lights in the air - he bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Keep safe. When I get back, let’s go for a nature walk. Or fishing. Or something outdoors. I think it’d be fun.”

Fay blushed, nodded, but kept doing what she was doing as he turned to jump out the window. Allie said something to Lahn and Shovi, talking to them for a few minutes before following Riven out.

“Ever ridden on a dragon before?” Allie asked with a giddy smile, clambering up the monster’s huge back to where a pair of saddles were stationed between spines. “It’s pretty funnnnn!!!”

Riven snorted and followed her up, strapping himself in as his clothes were changed out by warping them between his spatial sack and the stuff he had on his body. Soon, Jackal was in spear-staff form and the heavy armor set ‘Messenger’ was also encompassing his body with a ivory-painted pair of steel boots and leg armor. “I can’t say I’ve ever ridden one, no. But I’m glad to see you’re putting my hard won victories to work - now show me what this guy can do. Let’s go see just who and what ‘Rippenvire’ actually is.”

***

Athela’s eyes opened, and once again she found herself before her new god.

Gluttony, the great maw, hovered over her a thousand times larger than she was while hissing down at her. In an abyssal black hell, Athela was utterly nothing in comparison to this ancient entity that’d existed even at the dawn of time.

“HEY!” Athela snapped, angrily shaking a fist up at the toothy bastard. “SEND ME BACK AND STOP INTERFERING WITH MY RESURRECTION! You fuck’n toothy BABY BACK BITCH! You KNOW the system won’t stand for this rule breach!”

She gave the great maw a sideways glare, and she felt it mentally reach out to her again - but she humphed and turned away. “NOPE! NOT happening! I know what you want and you aint gonna get it!”

There was an ominous pause, and the maw’s hissing stopped.

“You do not have a choice…” Gluttony muttered - the ancient voice coming in from all directions in a way that made even Athela’s bones shudder. “You do not… have a choice… I will pay the price for defying Elysium, but you will obey me on this… it is a certainty…”

Athela, for all her posturing, was terrified. She felt the cold pressure of the original sin weighing down on her mind, breaking her mental defenses like they were nothing. She felt the sensation of icy tendrils wiggling their way into her body and semi-formed soul aperture.

She was scared, but she swallowed the pit of fear forming in her throat and squinted hard to fight the presence off - to reclaim herself, and to stop it from getting what it wanted.

Athela would not betray Riven. She would not do it, not even to save herself. She’d rather stay dead than have that happen, so despite the mental anguish that abruptly wracked her brain as her mind was pulled apart - she held on for what felt like the millionth time. Time, after all, worked differently here - but she kept going no matter what.

Because one day, she knew she’d get to see Riven again.

That little twirp had it coming after all the shit he put her through.

She would see him again…

She would see him…

She would see…

She would…

She would eat him.

Athela’s eyes lifted to the maw in the sky, where a crystalline flower was slowly emerging from Gluttony’s mouth.

She would devour everything in her path.

*WHAM*

She smacked herself across the face as hard as she could, shaking herself rom her stupor. “NO! NO, NO, NO!”

Athela shook her head back and forth like a wet dog. “Come on, come on, come on, stay sane - stay sane - stay sane! I just have to wait until Riven gets me out of here and I’ll be fine, I just have to hold on… Hold on… Hold… on…”

She needed to… to feed… On Riven’s core… To take the… the…

Athela’s mind went dark, but then a distant light began to brighten her otherwise fading consciousness. The blooming, crystal rose showed itself to her once more, and she felt a warmth spread over her as petals began to sprout along her skin.

Gluttony shrieked in rage with a roar that trembled the heavens.

Her demonic soul shivered with greed.

The rose wrapped itself around her, and she was finally at peace - awaiting the day that she would return home.

[You have acquired the trait ‘Fae-Unholy Hybrid.’ Gluttony has been punished by Elysium for attempting to circumvent its rules. You have stolen a shard of Gluttony, original sin.

Evolutionary changes commencing.]