Maxwell

I wasn’t the only one that returned to the meeting point early. Razz’s group was already back, most of them sporting black eyes and bruises, when I teleported back to the clearing. The Jade Collective also returned soon after I arrived. None of them were hurt like Razz’s group, at least.

“Do I want to know?” I asked Razz.

“Just a misunderstanding. Don’t worry. We didn’t cause any trouble for the city.”

I shook my head but wasn’t too worried about that. Glistening Dawn would have sent me a message had they caused actual trouble. “Do the other guys look worse?”

“You bet.”

Rowena was the last to arrive. She was breathing heavily having run from the city. “I guess the shopping trip is over,” she said breathlessly.

I scowled but nodded. “Sadly. I have no idea what might happen to Alflona, but I want to be around to make sure it’s safe.”

With a quick joining of hands, I teleported the group to our first rest point. Ulic quickly poured in the group’s mana into my pool, and I repeated the process two more times until we reached home. Sasha and Razz both took their groups to get ready in case we were attacked. We had a tense ceasefire with Aurora right now, but that might have changed now that she was the Demon Lord of Death.

The town was peaceful when we arrived. That alone gave me a ton of relief and let me breath easier. I still wanted to have some arrangements in case the worst happened. I asked everyone to meet me back at the Command Center. It might have a hole in it, but the war room should be operational.

I asked Rowena to find Kaga as well. I had a feeling the scout might have a lot of work over the next few days. While I waited for everyone to arrive at the war room, I put my thoughts together. If I was being honest, I didn’t like the idea of fighting someone with the label Demon Lord of death. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ignore the nearly three months of bad blood we had between us.

Then there was the fact that Alflona was technically under the jurisdiction of Voasis. While I hadn’t actually interacted with the goddess one way or the other, I wasn’t sure how she would take to me knowing the exact location of the new Demon Lord and doing nothing about it. Of course, she might just ignore me.

I shook my head at the thought. How was I supposed to know?! She had only said two words to me in total. Shaking my head again, I entered the war room. Or at least, I thought I did. Instead, I found myself in a strange place. I was on a bridge from the looks of it. The night sky was overhead filled to the brim with stars. I couldn’t remember ever seeing galaxies and such like this in my life. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Pulling my gaze from the sky, I looked around the space for more concrete details about where I was. The bridge seemed to extend forever behind me. If there was an end, I couldn’t see it from my spot. As for in front of me, there was a temple. It was built with purple metal and glowing stones of the deepest violet. Seeing the colors, I instantly knew where I was. It was as if it was written in my blood.

It appeared Voasis has decided to have me pay a visit. I sucked in a deep breath then started walking toward the temple. Streams of light flashed around me. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I understood that they were people using teleportation skills or items. She really was the goddess of the Void.

Just before I reached the door to the temple, there was a deep glow as a figure appeared in front of me. When they solidified, I found they were a void elf like me. He bowed with a gentle smile. “Welcome, Maxwell Orfen, to the Void Palace.” He gestured for me to follow him as the doors slid open without a sound.

“I seemed to have been invited,” I said trying to match his smile. Following him inside, I found that palace was the right word. The structure looked like it had been designed for giants. I had to strain my neck to see the ceiling.

“Quite so. Mistress Voasis would like to address some of your concerns,” my guide said oblivious to my wandering eyes.

He led me through the maze until we arrived at an altar. I expected Voasis to be sitting on a throne, or something similar, but she had her head in prayer in front of the altar. She looked exactly as I saw her last time. All her wounds had healed perfectly although her halo was still shattered.

“Mistress Voasis will be with you in a minute. Do not worry about your settlement. Time works differently here.” He bowed his head again then turned to leave. I had heard that some cutscenes and areas in the game had time dilation. It was easy to trick the brain that time was passing differently.

A good ten minutes or so passed before Voasis raised her head. She turned to me with a frown. “I apologize for summoning you like this.”

I waved away her apology. “It’s no problem. I am glad to see that you are well, especially considering our last meeting.” I ran a hand through my hiar. “Umm, should I bow or something?

She shook her head. “There is no need. I am a lesser goddess. Created when mortals gained a moments mastery of teleportation and walking the void.” Voasis gestured to a pew and had me take a seat. “I brought you here today because your thoughts were conflicted and I was close to the center of them.”

“Ah you caught that,” I said with a cough. “That’s right. I’m conflicted. I have a bit of a dangerous neighbor. She became a demon lord.”

“I see. This concerns you?”

“Actually, I’m concerned that it would bother you,” I replied with a shrug. “I never learned of the reason you were sealed, but I imagine that it was due to a cosmic struggle of some sort.”

She tilted her head looking at me like I was an idiot. Maybe I was… “I suppose a history lesson is necessary.” She cleared her throat sticking her finger in the air like a professor. “Demon Lords and the Gods have never come into direct conflict. We aren’t allowed to by the laws of the world. All our conflicts are resolved by mortals in our place. Because Mortals have free will they are allowed to choose whoever they would like to follow. The Gods and Demon Lords might represent different things, but at the end of the day we are really just two sides of the same coin. I was created when mortals gained mastery over teleportation. My sister, Arisis, was created when they gained mastery over air magic. Before her was our mother, Axmis was created when mortals gained access to basic magic, and so on.”

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“Then how are Demon Lord created?”

“Normally, they are created when a mortal strives for something beyond comprehension. The Demon Lord that had been revived, Rezdona, strived for the ultimate beauty. Her will was undauntable and brought her immense power.”

“Normally, huh. Then what’s an abnormal way to become a Demon Lord?” I asked though, if I took into consideration the fact that players were given options through the system that might explain something like Aurora becoming one. Unless I was mistaken, she wasn’t much higher level than me. Even if she was, I couldn’t see her being more than twenty or thirty levels.

“There are such things known as Absolute Beings in this world. Life and Death. They have a greater control over the world then any mere god or Demon Lord might.” Voasis put her head in her hands. “I would be nothing more than a pebble for them to set on. It is feasible that they could easily create a Demon Lord or even God if they so desired.”

That was fantastical to think about and far beyond what I thought players might experience. The game had marketed that anything was possible if you managed to play the game in the right way. I guess they were telling the truth. “Why would Death want to create a Demon Lord?” I asked, unable to fathom why a creature like that would act.

“You’d have to ask him yourself.” Voasis gave me a gentle smile before she got up and moved back to the altar.

“Fair enough.” I sighed and leaned back on the pew. “I guess my mind is a little calmer after talking with you. I hope you don’t mind me acting to protect my people. Even if that means selling my soul to the devil.”

“I rewarded you for saving me. I did not say that you were required to worship me.” Voasis remarked. “Do not worry about me. If you decide to exalt me in your town, I shall use my power as best I can to help you. As for helping the Demon Lord, there have been many occasions of the two forces joining in alliance. I would not be offended as long as you do not seek to destroy me.”

“Of course I wouldn’t!” I said fervently. I couldn’t even imagine why someone would put her through the torture that she suffered before. “Who managed to do that to you anyway?”

“Hmm. Ah, my imprisonment. It was done by a group of almighty mortals. Nothing we did harmed them. Magic washed off their bodies like water. Physical attacks were repelled before they even touched their skin. Most of the Gods and Demon Lords were sealed away by them. They refused to converse. We only learned of their name before our end was sealed.”

“I’m almost afraid to know what such a group might call themselves, but not knowing my invite trouble. Please tell me, if you are willing.”

“They called themselves the Game Masters.”

I wasn’t sure what sort of face to make. I instantly realized what happened. The game was said to have been run for several thousand simulated years before being populated by players. My guess was that the developers decided to seal the Demon Lords and Gods to give the players something to do. Unsealing them, archaeology, making sure they stayed sealed, were just a number of things that I could think of that might interest the players.

I had to wonder why none had been released up until now. The game had been operating for over five years after all. There were more than a few players that I could see searching out powers like that to become a God or Demon Lord. However, more importantly, given the current state of the game, I doubted that Game masters were going to be a problem any time soon.

“I see. I’ll make note of that,” I said with a groan. I honestly wonder what the world would be like if there had been a game master present when this whole event took place.

“I’ll send you back, then. I was pleased to have this chance to talk to you.”

In the blink of an eye, I found myself back in the war room. It was exactly as I left it. Checking the game clock, only a few seconds had passed. I chuckled at the show of power, even if it was in a game. I walked over and sat down at the conference table. The others should be here soon, and I had a bit to digest before they arrived. The others soon started to file in. Sasha arrived, but only had two from her guild with her. The same was said for Razz who just had his right-hand man. Rowena arrived shortly after with Kaga in tow. I was glad that she was able to find her. The woman had a tendency to vanish when she wasn’t helping out.

I thought about calling for a few of the prominent NPCs from the town, but decided to hold off. While I valued their opinion, players were just capable of different things. “Thank you all for joining me. I’d like to call the first ‘How to deal with Demon Lord Vampire dungeons’ to order.”

Everyone laughed but it only lasted for a second or two. Humor was nice but the threat was just too much to push out of our mind. “First, I’d like to say that Voasis, the Void goddess said whatever action we take will not bother her. I guess the divide between God and Demon Lord isn’t as great as we first thought.”

“That’s good. Because, I’m going to suggest we work with her,” Sasha said drawing a range of eyes from the table.

“Are you serious!?” Rowena shouted banging her fist on the table. “I am against that plan!”

“Do we have a choice?!” Sasha shot back. “She’s a dungeon! A dungeon run by a player!” Sasha threw her hands up in the air. “That’s the most cheat level thing I have ever heard! You’ve seen the number of monsters she’s able to pump out.”

“I agree. That’s why we shouldn’t tie the rope around our neck,” Rowena retorted.

I quickly threw up my hand before a real fight broke out. “I understand where you’re coming from Sasha. However, let’s shelve that for now. I’m happy as long as she doesn’t try to turn us into sacrifices for the lord of Death. I might be basing this off movies and other games, but that’s usually what happens when someone joins something called the Cult of Death.”

“I can’t make any promises if you’re my enemy.”

“Its not like I’m your…” I jumped out of my seat as I realized who the voice belonged to. I jerked toward Kaga’s seat and found Aurora, at least I thought it was her, with her arms wrapped around Kaga’s shoulders and sitting in her lap. Kaga, for her part, appeared to be unconscious. “What! How did you get in here?!”

“Why Maxwell, you’re not the only one with instant movement skills. Ah, don’t worry about her.” Aurora ran a hand across Kaga’s cheek. “I’m just making sure I’m not attacked until we’re done talking.”

I ground my teeth but took a seat with a grunt of annoyance. “What do you want?”

“A couple things actually. I am ready to bury the hatchet. I realized a while ago that I was trapped in this place whether I liked it or not. For one, I should be long dead if we were still attached to this bloody place. Thus, I apologize for forcing you to deal with my anger in that regard.” Aurora leaned her head against Kaga. I wanted to know why the sense of personal space didn’t seem to bother her.

“Okay. Then, what about the cause of our conflict. I doubt you’re ready to forgive me for the Imp’s death,” I said. While we both knew it was accident caused due to us being too close together, I had to admit that I should have been more careful with something like a territory wide holy aura. Not that Voasis gave me much warning.

“No. I understand that you were not the true cause of his death,” Aurora replied glancing into the distance. I felt I was missing something, but I couldn’t exactly pry at the moment. “I have bigger issues as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“Yes, we all saw the message,” Rowena said before I could reply. “What do you want us not to hunt you like everyone else?”

Aurora laughed sending shivers down my spine. “I’d honestly like to see you try.” Aurora took a deep breath when she finished laughing. “Rather, I have a nice big target on my back. You guys are the only ones that know exactly where I’m located. I’d rather that not get out to everyone and their mother.”

“I’m half tempted to broadcast that information right now,” Rowena said. She really didn’t’ care for Aurora. I hadn’t realized just how peeved at the woman she had been.

I jumped to my feet holding my hands out to both of them. “Alright. Let’s stop with the threats. They aren’t going to get us anywhere.”

“She has our friend in some sort of death grip, how can I be calm right now?” Rowena hissed at me.

“I know. I know,” I took a deep breath. “What is it that you want Aurora?”

“A partnership. An alliance. A coalition. Whatever word makes you feel more comfortable.”