I did a handspring as I dodged one of the scything blades of the dungeon boss. Guinevere drove her sword into its back the wraith howling. Exar’kun had transformed back into his true form in the boss room and emerald flames engulfed the Assassin Demon.

Kalsen Scytheclaw, Gifted- demon-lord/dungeon boss, Exarch, Rank: 1350

The demon lord whirled around to strike at Guinevere, but I was there faster than thought. His scythes collided with my void armored limbs the force enough to slam me back against the wall but not enough to break through the armor’s defenses.

The demon howled as the dragon fire lowered his defenses. Guinevere’s blue wings buzzed as the darted all around him striking at it with her icy blade. I pushed off the wall my asura form turning me into a whirlwind of weapons as I flanked it.

The demon fell as Exar’kun bit down on half its torso shaking his head like a dog with a chew toy.

225 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.

No new abilities but that was always up to chance with my kills. The chance did seem to go down the stronger I got. I was constantly tempted to just spend rank points on advancing my attributes directly but always stopped myself. It just felt wrong, like a real life microtransaction to boost my immediate power but at the expense of long-term progression.

“Either of you get anything?” I asked.

“No,” Guinevere said.

“An ability called Scything Tail,” Exar’kun said. “It doesn’t seem overly powerful, but it will have some uses.”

“Well let’s see what we got for loot,” I said moving over to the boss touching it and receiving the loot from the System.

Ring of Rapacity, Type: Jewelry, Rarity: Epic; When worn your mana and stamina regeneration increase by 10%.

Weight:

.1 lbs.

Radiant Breastplate, Type: Armor, Rarity: Rare; You project a source of light around you, all holy damage taken is reduced by a moderate amount.

Weight:

15 lbs.

I’d experimented and you could only wear up to four rings. None of this was an upgrade or even better than the things I could make myself. I pulled Mab off my belt and laid the items across its pages so he could read their enchantments for my future use.

“Are you able to use rings?” I asked Exar’kun tossing the ring his way.

“Never really tried,” Exar’kun said morphing into his human form.

I’d made him some human clothes that transformed with him, so I didn’t get flashed every time he did that. He caught the ring midair and examined it before slipping it onto his finger.

“That was the last of the high ranked dungeons we’ve discovered,” he said.

“It was only five,” I pointed out. “But they’re all on cooldown now.”

“So what now?” Guinevere asked.

It had been a week since we were married. Camelot was coming for us soon I knew; I had my army preparing and my elites all running dungeons to power and gear up as much as they could before the shit really hit the fan.

“We need to think of a way to win this war,” I said. “I feel confident in besting an army even ten times our size but…”

“It’s going to be a hundred times our size,” Guinevere said knowingly. “Camelot has alliances with almost every adjacent kingdom all of whom will go to war with them, Lunara is already your enemy. My cousin will have already mobilized her army.”

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“You don’t think she’ll have learned her lesson from last time?” I asked with no real hope.

Guinevere shook her head. “Helen is like how I was, blinded by dogma and she’s also the champion of an enemy goddess; she will go to war against you with Arthur.”

“Do you think I should have just killed her?”

“No,” Guinevere said taking my hand. “You taught me that everyone deserves a chance to prove others wrong no matter how much we already believe what they will do.”

“See you later,” I said to Exar’kun as we exited the dungeon, and all took to the air splitting up.

Guinevere flew with me, and we landed on the fortifications I’d constructed. I’d moved our base from Dragonhold given the tendency I had for destruction. Our new base was located on the edge of the Ancient Forest. I had merged my designs for the tower I’d used in the last Event and the one I used for fending off the World Raid.

Guinevere and I landed atop the central spire of the dark stone fortress looming as tall as a skyscraper. The deep chasm around the fortress was four hundred feet wide and sank seven hundred feet into the ground. I sat down on the throne and Guinevere slid in beside me draping her legs across mine.

My hand ran along her back as we looked out over the setting sun.

“I don’t like bringing you to fights in your condition,” I said. “I know its an oxymoron, the only way to keep you safe is to make the both of us stronger but the only way to do that is by putting you in danger.”

“And you’ll have to put her in more danger,” a cold feminine voice said.

I could feel Guinevere stiffen under my fingers as Kelesa walked around a pillar. Her appearances were always rare, but she had never appeared to me with someone else around although I didn’t think there were any rules against her doing so.

“What do you need?” I asked her cutting to the chase.

“I have spoken with one my peers, he is vary concerned about the nature of the power you have chosen to define you,” Kelesa said.

“Sounds like his problem,” I said with a shrug.

“Until he makes it mine and by extension, yours,” Kelesa said.

“What is the issue with his power?” Guinevere interrupted.

Kelesa ran her eyes over Guinevere appraising her. “Bold of you to speak out but I suppose cutting to the heart of the matter is the best thing for us. Do you know why we gods originally signed the pact and created the System?”

“To keep from destroying the world over and over again,” Guinevere said.

Kelesa laughed. “No. Despite the kind and caring act the gods of order may put on they care just as much for the lives of their followers as I do. We are gods if we want to destroy a continent we can raise up another the next day and fashion new followers out of stone and give them life. No, we signed it to defend out world not from ourselves but an outside threat.”

“The Void,” I said in realization. “That’s what you’re worried about.”

“Yes, its nature is anathema to us, a god rising up who wields that poison? I believe you can see the problem.”

“Not really,” I answered. “I’m not an entity of the Void, I have no allegiance to it nor am I bound to it, I just draw power from it. A sword isn’t evil or even innately destructive only when its picked up does it gain purpose.”

“This is not a discussion,” Kelesa said. “You must set aside this path, if you do not the other gods will gather together to amend the accords and they will settle this.”

I frowned feeling anger rise in me. “You told me I would be free to choose my own path when you offered me the chance to become your champion, this is deliberate and direct interference.”

“I have signed no pact with you,” Kelesa said. “Put your feelings aside they already weaken you to much, this is beyond you if the accords are amended there is much I would lose and I would rather lose a champion than have those agreements changed now.”

She tossed out metal disk and it landed in my lap.

“Use this, I had the System create it to mend this problem,” she said and turned her back on me. “Do not disobey me on this champion, you have done quite well but this area is non-negotiable. You should ask your woman what happens when a champion defies their patron.”

She stepped through a rip in the air and disappeared.

My jaw tightened and loosened again and again as I restrained my anger. I looked down at the token.

Void Annihilation Token, Type: Consumable, Rarity: Mythic; created from pure divine power directed by the System this token will allow the user to purge themselves of all void effects, skills and creatures using the power to merge with a different skill and upgrade it and empower it to the same level as the consumed skill.

Weight:

1

“What will you do?” Guinevere asked.

This will kill you, won’t it? I asked Voidra.

Yes, she said and for the first time since I had met the spirit, I heard fear in her voice.

I slipped the token into my pouch. I hadn’t chosen Voidra and when first possessed I’d been nothing but annoyed by her presence. However, since then it had been she and Karnen who had saved my lifetime and time again. She had enabled me to unlock a power that had let me defeat the duelist in a one-on-one duel. While this token would let me respec into another one of my abilities and based on how it was worded make it even more powerful than it would have even been before it wasn’t something I was going to do. Doing so meant betraying Voidra, I was many things, a lot if not most of them bad but to this day I’d never betrayed anyone gone back on my word and I wasn’t going to start now.

“I’m not going to do anything,” I said.

Guinevere bit her lip. “If she rejects you as her champion…” she said. “She can rip out the divine ability she granted you, it would flay your soul leaving you magically crippled.”

“I’ve had my soul flayed before,” I said.

“I think this would be different,” Guinevere said.

“I’m not going to do it,” my voice turned hard as iron. “I choose my own path and this one was the only reason I was able to save you.”

Guinevere was quiet for a moment. “Then you need to speedrun getting to godhood even faster before she can stop you.”

I breathed out a tired sigh. “So, it would seem.”