Chapter Forty-Six
Lilith, the angel of Seduction and Desolation, has offered you a soul-binding contract. The terms of the contract are thus: You will not be able to compel Lilith in any way. In return, she will act as a guide and mentor to you once your souls are forged together as one. This process will enhance your Concept and gift you with a new aspect, two new skills, and a new weave. Note that the latter is a benefit as a result of the process and not a part of your agreement. Do you accept it?
Jackson took a long, slow, deep breath in and out. Lilith rolled her eyes at him, which he ignored. He needed to prepare himself for this. Once he had steeled himself, he nodded and willed his answer to the Judge.
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Jackson's world became an inferno of pain. All conscious thought fled from him. All he could feel was pain as his soul, his Domain, his very being were torn asunder. He was being ripped apart before his entire self was tossed into a fire so hot it was indescribable. It was as if someone had broken him down into bare parts and was now heating him up in preparation to forge him anew.
There was no longer a world around him that he could feel or smell. His entire existence was filled with fire and pain. Then came a new kind of pain—a pounding, banging pain—that of a hammer that was slamming down on him with incredible, reality-warping force. He was being reshaped, and when the pounding pain stopped, the fire began anew, springing forth from a spark and spreading like wildfire, consuming all that he was. The flames burned his Domain to ash and were so powerful in fact, it even cleansed the phoenix from him; its cry is an echo of dying fury. Then not even the ash remained.
Beneath the Domain was Jackson's spirit, and the desolating fire merged with it, turning his spirit into a dark violet and crimson ball, and from it flowed a desolate landscape covered in white ash. Ash continued to fall like rain over the landscape, and where the ash fell, a flash of bloody red fire sparked into the air, and where there were these sparks of dark red flame, patches of violet grass appeared.
The air felt superheated—so hot it was warping—and in the air, from the ash, droplets of red blood appeared, merging together to form a familiar bird. The phoenix was back, but this time it was made of a sanguine liquid that could only be blood. Yet the heart of the bird was a violet fire that pulsed in time with the falling ash. The phoenix filled the sky, its bloody red light bathing everything in a red haze, broken up only by the small bits of white ash that fell from the sky.
Then came a feeling—a feeling that coursed through the air like an unseen wind that was constant and never-ending. A feeling of destruction, of violent, inevitable desolation, seeped into everything. The fire that started it all did not vanish; it became an undercurrent, a foundation that leached life from the very ground, constantly sucking life from the violet grass that formed whenever ash fell and sparked.
Jackson did not observe the process, so much as he knew that the formation of this place was the purpose of the pain. He became aware of it as he was aware of himself, even as the fire he was tossed into burned him and heated him up like he was nothing but a rod of metal. Then came more hammering—that pounding pain that vibrated all throughout his being. It added depth and substance to him—something that was unseen yet present all the same. When the pounding faded, Jackson was thrust into something—cooling water that washed away every impurity, strengthening him and all that he was. With it came mana; aspects of dark crimson fire swirled throughout the desolate landscape, scorching the land. The knowledge that this was a bloody aspect was simply present in his mind now. The knowledge of what the mana was had not been there before, but it was now, as if it had always been.
The feeling of destruction that filled the air was another mana aspect. Both aspects felt plentiful—rivers where there had once been small ponds. Finally, there came the feeling of acid, a sharp, burning poisonous pain that ate away at him, but in doing so revealed finishing details. A subtle yet beautiful pattern that seemed to hide itself just under the seemingly ruined landscape that was his Domain. It was a pattern of loss and renewal, of hope gained and then destroyed. A pattern of love turned to scorn, and a pattern of beauty turned ugly and then beautiful again.
It spoke of a cycle—a vicious and eternal cycle that would keep going until the end of time itself.
Then Jackson was bending. He was breaking. He was broken.
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It took some time for Jackson to come back to himself. It felt like he was in that place—that place of forging and shaping—for an eternity. He was shaking as he stood up; at some point he had fallen, a bit of his drool steaming on the black stone as the heat evaporated it. Lilith was no longer chained. In fact, she was nowhere to be seen. Jackson briefly wondered if it had worked, but that thought was quickly dismissed. He knew it had. Even now, he could feel her. She was a part of him now.
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Jackson knew Lilith probably better than he knew himself. They were tied together now, and he understood a little better what she had said before. They were so disgustingly intimately tied together that it boggled the explanation. It was deeper than being soul-bound—deeper than anything else, really. Jackson also knew the kind of being he had tied to himself that he had become one with.
She was….ancient. She delighted in seducing and then destroying life, not because the act of doing so was pleasant, though it was, but because she was fulfilling her purpose. That was who she was and what she had been meant for. Being a bloodfyre wyrm had been a disguise, a way to pass the time, and, of course, a way to gain a reward from the Judge. There was more there, but Jackson's understanding suddenly cut off as neatly as if someone had snipped a thread.
“None of that now, dear child. You want to get to know my magnificent self? You will need to talk to me. Just as you would anyone else. Besides, it’s politer that way,” she said the last bit primly, her nose upraised.
She had appeared off to Jackson's side, wearing a flowing dark red dress that hugged her curvaceous form. Noticing Lilith’s beauty was almost involuntary. It was a part of her presence, of who she was. To not notice it was to ignore her, and that simply was not possible. That meant that while Jackson might try to ignore the way his thoughts turned lustful as his eyes were inevitably drawn to the way her dress plunged gloriously at the front, it was undeniable that the thoughts were there.
Lilith’s smile was slow and searing, not at all displeased at him looking. Jackson's mind turned to Melanie, and the thought of his hazel-eyed druidic ranger banished all desire for Lilith from his mind. Lilith’s expression turned pouty.
“She’d never know, mortal. What happens in your head stays there after all.”
Jackson scowled at her and said simply,
“I would know.”
Lilith sighed and waved a dismissive hand.
“You’re no fun. Ah well, loyalty is to be admired, I suppose. Now then, Jackson Grey, what is next?”
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Turning Jackson's attention to the notifications that were almost screaming at him was what was next. It unfurled in his mind like an opening scroll.
You have merged souls with Lilith, the Angel of Seduction and Desolation. You have received the Bloodfyronesis Skill (Journeyman Level 40), the Wings of Desolation Skill (Journeyman Level 40), and the Bloodfyre Blades Weave (Journeyman Level 40). In addition, your concept has been strengthened and changed. Your phoenix concept has become a Bloodfyre Phoenix Concept. Your blood aspect has changed into the bloodfyre aspect. The amount of mana you can draw upon has been increased.
That was…amazing. Jackson was eager to check out what the skills and the weave did, but he had another notification waiting for him. This one was less pleasant.
Due to your merging with Lilith, the angel of Seduction and Desolation, your vampyric hunger has changed. Not only do you require blood to survive, but you also hunger for destruction. You will need to destroy or visit the sites of destruction in order to feed on the ambient feelings of destruction and loss. Should you fail to do so, you could lose control.
Jackson was not a fan of that. Not at all. Not even one iota. Now he had to destroy things? He felt fury build inside of him, and he whirled to face Lilith.
“Why didn’t you tell me this would happen?!”
Jackson didn’t bother considering that she didn’t know what he was talking about. He knew that she did. He knew that she could see the notification the same as him. They were basically one now. Her expression turned ugly for just a second, her eyes blazing with violet wrath. Quick as a blink, her expression became calm, and her violet eyes were pools of serenity. She shrugged, and Jackson cursed, as even that motion seemed to draw the eye.
“I did not tell you because I did not know, little vampyling. Cool your anger and curb your mortal tongue, or else I will sunder your mind and shred it like paper. It appears that my purpose and your hunger have merged. It is hardly surprising when you consider it; I told you that new skills and weaves would be born from our union.”
Jackson glared at her, fists clenched, his teeth locked together. He was not satisfied with her answer. She merely looked at him, calm as the sea in the eye of a storm. Jackson should have known that not everything about this would be positive. Knowledge, and therefore power, often came with a price. Once he thought about it, he really couldn’t be surprised. It was annoying, it would likely delay him in the future, and it may even become a real problem if not managed carefully, but there was nothing to be done about it now.
There were no takebacks in this situation. Jackson had to live with it. He unclenched his hands and worked out the kinks in them before sighing and running a hand through his hair. He looked at Lilith, who seemed to be waiting for him to get himself together.
“Alright then. I can’t do anything about it, and I guess I should have considered this. I want to look at these new skills, and then I want to have a discussion with you. I have questions.”
Lilith’s answer was to bow her head, a wry smile playing at her lips.
“Of course, my host.”
Jackson blinked. What did she even mean by that?