image [https://imgur.com/HT6hRlq.png]

Berossus held the unresponsive tablet in his hands. He growled, deep in his throat, and felt the thin piece of stone start to bend under his tight grip. He breathed out slowly, and gently set the tablet down on the table. Then he punched a marble bust a grandmaster artist had made of him, shattering it into sharp stone fragments. He was panting, his head pounding. His Vessel was no longer responding to inquiries, and the last communication had simply been an automatically sent text list of actions taken. It had used a massive amount of Infernal energy, fought hard, and then the updates had stopped. If the Vessel had been destroyed the tablet would have conveyed that information.

Shortly after that the barrier had been broken. He had sent a scout to inspect the area, but could see no evidence of the magical or physical power that it should have taken to break such a barrier. He had arrived at the very unfortunate but obvious conclusion. The villager with the reality altering skill had taken out both his Vessel and the barrier. Berossus had acted fast, but had failed to contain the threat.

Additionally Fangmore had gone missing, the unregistered Hero was untracked, and some other Lord had used four points from the G.O.D. system without noting down what had been used or why. But those were unimportant issues, currently. He swept both hands through his hair and shook off the loose hairs. He craved the simple release of brutal violence, but could not afford such indulgences.

He had too much to do in the capital, but this situation still needed to be dealt with immediately. There were always loyal soldiers he could send out, but if his suspicions were true then they would be less than useless. He could conscript a band of heroes, but they too would fail. He pulled out a thick magical scroll, locked five times with arcane seals. He slowly undid each one, and then rolled it out on the table. The scroll contained the names of people and things that were no longer allowed near any of the major cities. They had been banished to the wilds, but had also each been forced to receive a potent rune of tracking, recall, and destruction. He could easily kill any of them with this scroll. The Gods disliked “waste”, and so this way was safer. Additionally they could be very useful in situations such as this.

He slowly scanned down the list. Some of these beings were too volatile for such a delicate task, suitable only for releasing in the midst of an enemy army. Others would not be able to deal with the problem in the way he needed. He finally found who he was looking for. The “Apostate”.

He pressed a finger against the “Recall” rune. A thrumming sound began, and very slowly particles coalesced onto a flat black piece of stone in the corner of the room. Teleporting to a location was always tricky, because if some other object occupied the same space then it would result in a very unpleasant end. A predecessor of his had made sure there were available teleportation “pathways” that were meticulously maintained. Access to the teleportation system was rarely given out, for obvious reasons. Berossus sat down into his chair, waiting for the process to end.

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A naked humanoid soon stood before him, dripping wet. He had an incredibly slender yet strong form, with tapered ears and long almost burnished hair. The Apostate was not a man, but an Elf. Thankfully they were fairly rare, because they could be quite irritating with their grandiose sense of self. The elf faced vaguely in his direction, eyes closed. “Can I help the Lord in some way?” Berossus nodded, then remembered the details about the Apostate, and instead cleared his throat. “Yes. I need you to kill a villager. He has a very powerful reality warping skill. I do not care how you do it, but I do need him dead. Beyond dead. Cut into pieces, then fed to beasts or burned. I will give you all the information available to me on him.” The elf nodded.

Berossus always felt uneasy with the Apostate. This Chosen Hero had reached level ninety, and then had REFUSED to ascend. He was now level one hundred and two. He had not resisted capture or having the rune applied. Berossus could still kill him, but was uneasy about his chances in taking him down without the G.O.D. system. In the end he had decided to keep him around as a useful tool. He was glad he had.

The Lord went to a tall black lacquered system of shelves. He scanned along it until he found the nondescript box he had been looking for. He opened it and took out the simple black stone necklace. “I have something for you that must be returned after you carry out this task.” The Apostate tilted his head. “I have no need of a weapon, Lord.” Berossus held out the necklace and the elf slowly held out a hand to take it. “This is not a weapon. It is a cursed object.” The man’s hand flinched slightly, but then closed around the necklace.

The Apostate’s brow furrowed. “What… I do not see the point of such an object. It is only weakening me.” Berossus smiled coldly. “It shuts down your ability to use skills. It also negates the effect of any skill used on you. Completely.” He slowly ran his fingers over the black stones of the necklace. “I see. So you wish me to kill this villager with my strength alone. I could do that.” Berossus smiled, some of the tension leaving his body. “But I will not.” Berossus felt his teeth clench, his head starting to throb again. “Apostate. You understand I can still kill you easily? The cursed item does not stop MY abilities, as they are not reliant on ‘skills’.” The Apostate slowly shook his head. “This is not a noble deed you ask of me, and I am tired. I have grown strong beyond strength, to no avail. I shall not Ascend, and I cannot rid myself of the pressure to do so. My sight is only shimmering silver and gold. You can promise me nothing that I cannot take for myself. So kill me, or let me leave.”

Berossus smiled, his mouth full of flashing white teeth. “Well there is ONE thing I could do. I could do a complete Reset.” The Apostate gave him a confused look, and Berossus went on. “You will return to level one, and lose all your skills and stats. It will cost me a precious resource, and you must confirm it verbally or mentally. But then you can live the rest of your days as a simple and worthless vagabond, if you so wish.” Berossus noticed with pleasure that the elf had broken out in a sweat all over.

“You lie.” “I do not.” The two stood there, frozen, and then the Apostate swiftly put the necklace over his head, his fingers trembling. “I will do this thing. I will brutally murder this person, I will feed his body to the pigs, and I will burn the pigs after. And then you will free me from my torment.” Berossus let out a low sigh. “Yes. I can unfortunately not teleport you while carrying that cursed item. I will give you a carriage with a tracker. She will help you find the boy, but will not help you kill him.”

The Apostate nodded. “One more thing, if I may.” Berossus sighed. “Yes?” The elf motioned to himself. “You grabbed me when I was bathing. Could I rinse myself and then have some clothing.”

Berossus rubbed at his forehead. People never just obeyed, they always wanted more and more. He picked up a chocolate covered coffee bean and popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly.

It was hard being a Lord.