“I’m here.” Randolph called out as he entered the basement. What greeted him were the remains of the left over palace guards covering the floor in a mass of gore. Sitting atop a small chest in the center of the room was Titan with a wide smile.

“That took longer than I thought.” He said.

“Unfortunately things didn’t go quite as planned.” Randolph sighed, shaking his head. “But in the end I got what I wanted and more.” With a snap of his finger Orochi's serpent popped its head out from under Randolph's coat and looked at Titan with its wide and curious eyes.

“I see, the more the merrier.” Titan laughed standing up and walking to the large door which kept the Emperor's tomb sealed. It was covered in chains, locks and paper seals which Titan paid no mind to. He forced the door open, ripping the chains, and seals apart with a variety of sounds until the doors were fully opened.

“Amazing…” Randolph muttered walking into the tomb and seeing its contents. It stretched down deep in the earth below in a cone-like shape. Clay soldiers lined the sloping terraced walls with their weapons and armor in pristine shape and ready for action. Waterfalls of molten Mercury came out from the walls and roof of the tomb dripping down to the Emperor's Sarcophagus which was made entirely of jade allowing the Emperor's mummy to be seen through the cloudy jewel.

Randolph walked across and over the bridge which was suspended over the tomb and fell down to the bottom with a graceful landing. He strode over to Orochi's sarcophagus and looked at the man inside. He was surprisingly well preserved and looked like a dried up raisin. His face noticeably deformed and body covered in both rich jewelry and clothes.

“Sokushinbutsu…” Randolph muttered, rubbing his fingers across the jade's smooth surface gently. “I’m sorry your dream didn’t come true, but with your assistance mine will. I thank you for that.” He said with a smile. Turning around and looking up at Titan who gave him a thumbs up he said the command.

“[][][][][][]”

DOOM!

With a roar the clay soldiers began to glow, their eyes shining a bright golden yellow as their limbs cracked coming to life. The layer of clay which covered them broke off of them revealing the more flexible golem underneath with joints similar to a marionette. Looking down at Randolph they all knelt down on their knees and bowed their heads.

“YOUR COMMAND!?” They all asked in unison. The boom of their voices was enough to make the entire tomb tremble and the arguably inexhaustible amount of mana imbued into them through an unknown ancient ritual filled the room.

“It’ll be over soon.” Randolph muttered, placing his hand over his heart.

# # #

The planet trembled, no, that would be an understatement. It shook so violently that even those who didn’t comprehend magic felt the immense wave of change. The balance of the world had dramatically shifted and the stress put upon the planet was immense. The ocean's tides grew fierce and storms began to form around the globe. Thunder, rain, hail and snow all rained down upon the world with a violent passion.

For the first time in history snow fell down onto the city of Azhar. The workers who’d been cleaning the ruins in preparation to rebuild the city were stunned by the sight.

Across the world on the continent of Afurenthos the Venator Tower bustled with energy. Men and women of all ranks and ages sprinted around the complex in a panic. Phones rang and emergency meetings were held both consecutively and concurrently.

El-Saber sat alone in his office, his head resting in his hands as it throbbed. “Randolph your brat, do you even know what you’ve done!?” He growled behind clenched teeth.

Across the tower reclining on a velvet couch in his mansion sat Jinen Lutece, in his hand he held a golden chalice filled with expensive aged wine which he twirled as if nothing was happening. His [Pure Eyes] allowed him to see the world's mana [Kami] vibrate in a show of bright colors and patterns like a psychedelic trip.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Things are starting to really get interesting now, thank goodness. I thought I was gonna die before something exciting happened.” He chuckled softly.

# # #

On the uninhabited continent of Artisius an especially brutal blizzard swept over the frozen landscape. The violent winds were so cold your lungs would fill with ice just from a single breath.

In the center of this unlivable continent sat a mountain range, one which housed the largest mountain in the world, Mt. Atlas.

Deep under this mountain below its very roots sat five men in a room., Their faces obscured by shadows as they muttered amongst each other.

“He did the unthinkable!” One said.

“He never did comply with our orders but to think he’d go this far… I’d never have imagined it in my wildest of dreams!” Another growled.

“We’ll order Francisco to send Jinen after him immediately!” A third argued.

“No, He’s more of a loose cannon than Randolph is! If we give him an inch he’ll take the whole planet. We need to keep him like he is now, on a tight leash.”

“We have no choice! No one else is capable of restraining Randolph! If things continue like this everything we’ve worked on for the past five thousand years will be lost!” A fourth man argued.

“Brother Konhan, you’ve kept silent, have you come to a realization?” One of the four men asked, turning to the fifth who’d yet to speak a word.

“In trying times like these we should pray to our lord.. He shall guide us to the correct conclusion.” Konhan said.

“Of course! What a splendid idea!” Said one of the men clapping his hands. The others agreed with a hum and whispered amongst each other further.

“I’ll prepare the sermon then, please prepare the sacrifices in the meantime.” One said, rising to his feet.

“Thank you brother Gahan.’" Kohnan said with a nod.

“Of course.” Gahan smiled, his mouth full of crooked pointy teeth.

# # #

The five men stood hand in hand in a dark chamber. The corpses of many small animals sat in the center of them where a sigil surrounded by runes was drawn. The blood from the corpses soaked into the sigil which shone red flashing brightly.

“We gather here under the blood of innocence to reach your domain and call to you, Father of Sins, King Of Darkness, god of the Wicked. We ask that you answer us, your loyal lambs and guide us in the direction which best suits your will.” They sang in unison.

The sigil flickered and the candles in the room were blown out by an ominous sudden wind engulfing the chamber in darkness. The only light source being the dark red glow from the sigil. The air grew thick and cold, horribly cold, so cold your eyes would literally freeze over with ice.

The five men clenched their hands tighter as the wind whispered incoherent words against the nape of their neck. The sigil under them began to flicker more aggressively, the blood swirling around the runes formed blotches of no meaning which began to take the form of coherent words. Albeit words written in an unknown script, one which far out dated humanity. A language known only to these five men and their god.

“Are you certain of this?” One of the men asked as he read the words, his voice tinged with a hint of anxiety.

The letters began to change shape forming new blotches of blood which read a new message.

“Then it shall be done my lord.” Konhan said, nodding his head.

With their course of action decided the men began to hum a song. A guttural disgusting song which induced the urge to vomit. A song which pleased their god who cast an unthinkable shadow over the sigil before vanishing as the song came to a close.

“We should begin preparations immediately.” One of the men said, releasing his hands.

“Yes, we shall do as commanded and adjust the flow of fate to match his desires.”

“How many times have we adjusted fate? It’s dangerous to disrupt the threads too much.”

“This will be the 17th time we’ve done so, and if we do as instructed this will be the last as well. A fate which will guide us into a new age.” Konhan said.

“The age in which we are free to do as we please, a world which is ruled by us, the leaders of man.” Gahan cackled his teeth clacking against one another.

“Yes, an age in which our god can join us in the feast.”