The city was quiet as I made my way through it, cloak pulled low over my head. A warm breeze blew through the desert lands, threatening to pull my hood free, but the draft cut short with a quick flick of my wrist.
I had a destination in mind, far beneath my station, but it was where he would be.
I rounded a corner before finding myself in front of a shabby-looking part, entering it without missing a beat. Inside it was crowded with a large assortment of people, the perfect place to blend in amongst the crowd. The thing that stood out most was a man, rambunctiously prattling off a story to a gathered crowd.
“And there we were, upon the peak of the mountain, when who would descend from above like an archangel of death, none other than he, Zero the Broken Blade!”
The crowd ooed and ahhed as the man continued beguiled them with the tale.
“….until at last, with one final arrow, I distracted the beast, allowing Zero to strike it down for good.”
I watched in amusement as the crowd, having reached the tale’s end, began clapping, some even offering coins to the man’s outstretched hat. The man noticed me, waving briefly. Finishing collecting his coins, he slipped through the crowd silent as a ghost, at least when compared to how he had drawn the spotlight of attention just moments prior.
“It has been some time, has it not?” The man asked as he sat beside me, still basking in the afterglow of his energetic performance.
“You truly enjoy spending your time in places such as this?” I muttered. His behavior had always been something of an enigma to me, but then most of their behaviors were hard to comprehend.
“You wound me with your words, Above All. You of all people should be able to understand my love for excitement.”
I wanted to snap at the man to watch his tongue and how he referred to me, doing me the disservice of dropping my full title.
But then, I would be a fool to challenge a god over such minor disputes.
“Ahh, don’t hold your tongue on my behalf.” The god laughed, reading my expression, seeing straight through my mask of ambivalence. “We’ve known each other long enough that you should know I am not that simple to anger. Besides, you are all but one of our peers.”
“I never accepted that offer. I have no aspirations of being a god.”
“Yes, you did not, which is why you would unofficially be one of our peers. It is a rare occasion where a mortal would deny an offer from he.”
“It was not for me,” I answered, shaking my head at a memory from long ago. “And I for all that I have seen and done, would not break, even before the likes of your ilk.”
“Always so prideful.” The got tutted before his face returned to an expression of easy-going relaxation.
“Regardless. Now, on to more important things, how should I refer to this… current form of yours that you have taken?”
“Oh, this?” The man, the god, I reminded myself, smiled smugly. “Most address me now as Keion, the babbling if, albeit lovable, archer.”
“And none are looking for you right now?” I questioned, at the very least aware that the god’s current alias was that of part of a lowly ranked adventuring party.
“Oh them?” He waved it off. “If you prefer, I can change forms to something more innocuous.”
Without a care in the world, the god began to shrink, wrinkles forming across his skin as half of his face went slack.
“How’s this?” The elderly-looking man smiled toothily at me, now standing shorter than I.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Does it not bother you to do that before so many?” I questioned.
“Bah, the sheer weight of our souls blocks us from their sight. It would take more than a few parlor tricks to catch their attention. So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”
“Does this look familiar to you?” I raised my palm as an image was projected out from it.
“Huh.” The ‘old man’ feigned confusion, scratching at his chin. “Why, I daresay that looks like my signet ring.”
“Yes.” I dismissed the projected image of a ring engraved with a key before fixing the god with a downturned gaze. “So how exactly did the signet ring, the icon of a gods power, end up in possession of the only independent sage in over three thousand years? The same one that I’ve been keeping my eye on?”
“Hoh.” The god chuckled to himself. “That is a good question. Perhaps he found a nice antique in a store.”
“Please, do you take me for such a fool?”
“Or perhaps I wanted a part of this game as well. You clearly are enjoying it.” The god’s eyes twinkled, mischief dancing within.
“You altered my plans,” I stated flatly.
“No.” The god shook his head. “I made them more interesting.”
“You turned Wisdom’s tomb into a dungeon.” I hissed, anger lacing my words.
“I thought you would appreciate that.” The god shrugged.
“He was my friend.” I fumed in irritation. “To see him reduced to a vestige….”
“Oh?” The god perked up. “So you did visit him then?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “It was… nostalgic.”
“See, no harm, no foul.” The god seemed pleased with itself. “You know, I tend to forget how young you still are.”
“I am over three hundred years old,” I answered. Only speaking to a god could I be left feeling like a defensive teenager again.
“And your point?” The god raised a wrinkly eyebrow at me. “I am over six thousand years old, and chief amongst the gods is over fifteen thousand years old. So, tell me once more, young sage, how I ruined your plans?”
I slumped against the counter we were seated by, ignored by the bar’s denizens.
“They are amusing, are they not?” The god asked after some time had passed.
“Who?”
“People.” It waved about vaguely.
“They bore me,” I answered.
“Ahh yes, while we are similar, our love for excitement, you never have been able to enjoy the simple excitements, moments born of the mundane and unimportant.”
“It is how I am.” I shrugged.
“Well then, if that is the case, how goes your ‘grand plan,’ if I may ask?”
“It goes,” I said plainly, never bothering to inquire how the god knew of it.
“Hmm.” The god nodded. “Would it not be easier to achieve if you accepted our offer? So, do you still decline it?”
“I do,” I confirmed. “I simply cannot enjoy the microcosm of humanity in the same way you can, my mortality is what makes existence worthwhile.”
“Is that why you chose to defy death, to escape into the future?”
“Please. Let’s not pretend that what I chose to do was some move of desperation. At any point I could have simply crushed them myself. While I do regret my calculations failing to account for my apprentice, his ultimate death proved for the better.”
The god laughed, a bellyful sound that did little to speak of the power wielded by the being.
“Yes, yes. I still remember the fall out, you, the greatest Sage of all, falling in battle with her apprentice by her side. Your compatriots were astounded that such a thing were possible.”
“It was the perfect opportunity to put my theory to play.” I waved down at my body, still younger than I preferred. “The Sage Above All vanished into history, allowing me to perfectly pursue the prospects of the future. And what prospects they pose.”
“I suppose.” The god shrugged as we continued people-watching. The silence between us stretched for several minutes until a voice called out nearby.
“Keion? Hello, Keion? Gods damn it, where did you get off to now? Keion I swear if you’re running up a tab again!”
“O, well would you look at that.” The god looked at me, giving me a quick mischievous wink. “That’s my signal.”
The form of the old man he had taken reformed back into the rambunctious bard of an archer, prancing his way through the crowd as I watched him meet up with a group of adventurers, two sisters, and one titan of a human male.
I remained where I was, alone in the crowd, until, at last, I grew tired of the commotion. Waving my hand, I disappeared from the small tavern within the city of Dunehold, reappearing within my proud abode, located within a far-off land. The robe I wore, specifically made to shield me from overly perceptive eyes, fell from my shoulders as a rare huff escaped me.
“So.” I stared at the pool of water I had teleported next to, an image forming as I waved a hand at it. “Ring Forger has become active again.”
I felt a thrill of excitement race down my spine, even if the god had taken it upon itself to act outside my former calculations.
I made the right choice.
The crystal-clear pool of water clouded until the image of a young man appeared, exiting a Ring Gate as he found himself in a bustling city.
“Enjoy your time, Rook.” I laughed gently as I dismissed the divination after staring at it for a second, making my way toward the window of my home in the sky. “But time continues forward as always-”
The thought warmed me as I smiled fondly at the city, my city, my floating citadel overlooking it as the city stretched out beyond, still in the process of growing.
“-but I alone see through it.”
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End of Volume Two of Rebirth of the Great Sages: Dungeon