Thotep finished up the newest section of his library and moved on to the next. He could do this faster than anyone else in the Domain, but updating the thousands of scrolls he had on human civilization to the past tense still felt like an arduous process. He had hoped he wouldn’t have to do this after world, but then Deus had to go ahead and mess everything up.
He thought he could do whatever he wanted since he took over the world. And then he had to rub in his importance when he changed his name to a fancier version of ‘God’. Who did the pretentious brat think he was, anyway? Well, no reason to get mad over that now. Deus was long gone. When the Domains of the world had gathered the day before to discuss what they were going to do about the downfall of human civilization, he was conspicuously absent. Maybe if he had come, they could have come to a decision and wouldn’t have all retreated to their own territories.
Thotep pulled out the first scroll in the section and tapped the paper gently. The letters shifted around, with some being created and removed, and the scroll changed to the past tense.
The doors to his library swung open with a slight bang, and a distinct voice rang out through the shelves.
“Hey Thotep, get over here!”
Thotep sighed and drew a set of sigils in the air, which appeared as glowing lines and shapes, and he was whisked to the library entrance. Standing in the entrance was Thel, his blood-red robes and eyes being a dead giveaway as to his identity. Plus, the somewhat wizened visage helped identify the first-generation Primus.
“And what can I find for you today, Thel?”
“Yeah, can you get me what you have on this list I have?” He pulled out a slip of paper with a list of subjects on them. “I saw some interesting faces in a few of the other Domains, back at the meeting yesterday. Felt like doing some light reading.”
“Well, I’m a little busy updating our archives, but I’ll see what I can dig up.”
Thotep flitted over to the Domain section and used another spell to sift through the shelves and find the dozen or so scrolls pertinent to Thel’s request. With the scrolls floating behind him, he flew back to the entrance. When he arrived, Thel was nowhere to be found. Thotep looked around, and saw nothing but sandstone, carpet and shelves.
Thel burst through the shelf he was hiding behind, using a gust of wind to send splinters of wood hurtling towards Thotep. Thotep threw the scrolls he was carrying into the air, drew a quick line of sigils to control the scrolls in the air attempted to use the scrolls to block some of the shrapnel, then launched them at Thel. Thel dodged the attack, summoned a question mark-shaped blade in his hand and charged.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Thotep cast another spell to form a protective barrier in front of him, blocking Thel’s blow. Thel began pushing harder against the barrier to the point where his sword began glowing bright red with the chaotic energy Thel was channelling into it. Cracks began to show in the shield, so Thotep focused its remaining energy into a magical blast which launched Thel into the opposite wall.
“What are you doing? What did I do to be attacked?” cried Thotep.
Thel snarled as he stood up, brushing sandstone from his shoulders. “Sorry, pal, but I’ve got plans I’d rather not have someone like you know about. Of course, I might feel like letting you live if you gave me your Ro.”
Thotep snorted. “You really think I’ll just give you the key to my power because you asked? After you’ve spent the last second trying to kill me over nothing? Sorry, man, but my soul is mine to keep.”
Thel shrugged. “If you wanna die then, guess I’ll just kill you.”
A ring of swirling, red sand appeared around Thotep, whose clothes began flapping in the wind. He drew a complex line of glyphs in the air, and the sand turned into a swarm of biting flies, which he directed towards Thel.
Thel extended a palm outward and the air in front of him was blasted with a wave of sand coating the floor. Thotep staggered backwards, and the flies began dropping like, well, flies. Taking advantage of Thotep’s weakened state, Thel leapt forward and flew through the air, sword raised to strike.
Thotep drew another line of glyphs and the carpet, lying in a heap in the corner of the room, animated itself and turned into a massive serpent. The snake surged forward and bit Thel around the waist. Thel thrust his arm into a gap between his body and the edge of the snake’s mouth, and its midsection began to rapidly bulge.
The snake was suddenly split in two from the blast of air within its gut. Thel landed on the ground with a grunt. Thotep began to work another spell, but Thel hurled a bolt of blood-red chaos energy at his enemy. The unfinished spell dissipated as the bolt flew through it and Thotep was knocked to the ground as it struck him in the face. Thotep tried to stand, but Thel rushed forward and sliced Thotep’s right arm off at the shoulder.
Thotep collapsed back onto the ground with a shriek of pain as he used his remaining arm to clutch at the stump spewing liquid gold. Thel sighed. “You know, I was trying to just tire you out with that fight and take your Ro after winning. But do you really care about keeping your soul intact enough to die for it? Sheesh, you need to get your priorities in check. Or, you should have. Not really relevant anymore.”
Thotep started coughing up blood, but spat it at Thel. “It looks like… old habits die hard. If you think I’ll give you… my power, you’re as dumb as you look. I haven’t trusted you this whole time you know. Once a murderer… Always a murderer.”
“Fine. Make me do this the hard way. See if I care.” With a growl, Thel struck again, silencing Thotep for good. He turned back to the ruined shelving and picked out the scrolls Thotep had retrieved for them, as well as a few others with interesting titles he saw lying on the floor. As he left the library, he pulled down one of the torches, threw it onto the shelving, and closed the door behind him.