Guinevere, I emerged from the Dungeon while neither of us had gained a new ability from the Dungeon the run had been profitable with the enhancement of our weapons. Exar’kun landed next to us transforming into his human form.
“The Champions have come out of their fortified cities, every country is at war with your followers now,” he said.
I could feel the sparks of energy as those who had sworn the oath and become my knights died in battle. They weren’t being massacred but I was aware of the loss of their life and the sacrifice of their blood. I felt a connection to each of my followers like a web spreading across the earth, I couldn’t look through their eyes like I could my Void Angels and I couldn’t even really pinpoint their location only their vague direction.
“My spirit will gather their souls to Avalon,” I answered him.
“Is that it?” Exar’kun asked. “We die and become Void Angels serving you?”
“I offer choice,” I said with a sigh. Exar’kun was not my vassal, he hadn’t even sworn the oath he was just my ally by his own volition. “I gave people the choice to join me for two reasons, one because I would have burned this world to a cinder to save my daughter and two because I don’t want to. I don’t desire to be this world’s villain; I want to be left alone to compete by slaying monsters and running dungeons, but that choice has been taken from me.”
“A binary choice is really no choice at all,” Exar’kun said.
“It’s more than most people ever get,” I said with a shrug. “My power comes without strings; I’m not asking these people to march and wage a holy war in my name. They can do as they please with their lives and now they actually have the strength to fight monsters themselves without having to be descended from some line of nobles.”
“And will that make the world better?” Exar’kun asked. “People can kill each other more efficiently now.”
“My world can wipe out all life on its surface, a society of people that can are able to exert an equal level of violence are actually less likely to oppress and kill each other for fear of the consequences.”
“And what consequences do you fear?” Exar asked. “Who matches your strength? Arthur? You have beaten him before. The gods? One of them was sacrificed on their knees before you.”
“If your worried who watches the watchmen then the answer is no one,” I said meeting his eyes. “I am stronger than you, then all of you, maybe even all of you put together. The question is… do you trust me?”
Guinevere had moved away giving us space. Exar’kun met my eyes a moment of deadly tension between us the glowing of his eyes showing the threat of the cursed fire he had been born with. Finally Exar’kun nodded, he knelt down on one knee surprising me.
“I will swear to serve my Lord so long as he holds true to his word to me. I will lay down my life for the weak under my care. I will bleed myself dry to protect my home. I will speak the truth to my lord and fellow knights at all times. I will honor my word and be faithful to all my promises.”
Liquid black armor flowed over Exar’kun.
“Why?” I asked him, I knew his pride when we had first met he was willing to choose death over service.
“Because I do trust you, Mordred,” Exar’kun said. “The suffering you inflicted was great, but compared to the millennia of suffering under the gods without reprieve or hope it was nothing.”
I looked at the ashen wasteland.
“This was nothing?”
“You think you’re the first champion to lay waste to continents?” Exar asked. “Remember the god Andelar? He wiped out an entire continent with not a thought for the people who lived on it or even a chance for them to spare themselves and he is far from alone in history.”
Exar’kun rose to his feet.
“This war isn’t going to be like the ones with the Champions before,” I warned him. “Look around, this was just the opening salvo from me.”
“Then it sounds like I’m on the winning side,” Exar’kun said with a slight smile.
---
Guinevere and I began jumping from dungeon to dungeon via portal and rushing them, some were still on cooldown but before the day was done we’d hit ten hierophant rank dungeons. I’d only gotten three abilities out of them, Guinevere had been more lucky and gotten five. The first ability I’d gotten was something I wasn’t even sure I’d ever have a use for.
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Mind Melder: The mind is man’s only refuge and fortress, and you have invaded it. You can alter the thoughts of a creature who you have defeated and put near the brink of death. You can alter up to 1 minute of the target’s memory.
Cost:
150 mana
Cast Time:
5 minutes
Rank up this ability to increase the amount of memories you can alter in a creature. Each rank increases your Mind and Power attribute by 1.
The ability had some really messed up potential, you could do horrific things to someone then alter their memories to make them think a loved one had done it to them. It was the sort of ability that when ranked up and with the right application could turn lifelong friends against each other or leave someone in therapy for the rest of their life. All of that was interesting but I was more interested in defeating my enemies physically, a bit of intimidation and psychological warfare was fine but I wanted to break their will to fight me not break their will.
The next ability had more practical application for me.
Toxic Blade: Poison is not only the tool of the assassin but also those who seek to bring pain and a slow agonizing end to their enemies. Coats your weapons in a virulent poison dealing additional Moderate poison damage with all your attacks and a stacking Poisoned condition with each hit dealing Minor Poison damage each second for 30 seconds.
Cost:
45 stamina & 45 mana per second
Casting Time:
Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the amount of damage, damager over time and additional effects. Each rank increases your Endurance and Might by 1.
I wasn’t entirely sure how useful the ability would be considering how many Gifted would be resistant to outright immune to Poison damage but at least it offered more viable combat options. If there were effects to help increase is effects rather than just damage or to somehow bypass poison immunity I would need to take those. The last ability had broader use that I could take of but did of course come with drawbacks.
Guardian’s Mark: The mark of the strong is not just their ability to destroy others but to keep others from being destroyed. You place a mark on 1 companion, as long as they stay within 30ft of you 5/8 of the damage they take will be transferred to you.
Cost:
35 stamina per second
Casting Time:
Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase the number of companions that can be protected, the damage transferred to you, and its range and other effects. Each rank up increases your Endurance by 2.
Of every member of my alliance I was the most durable and hardest to kill (I’d already died and come back from that) so the ability to take damage for those around me was useful and would pair with the ability of my knights to spread out and share the damage they took.
My vassals began to die in large numbers. My steps paused as I felt their sudden absence their souls now crying out to me in the Void my angels sent out to draw them to the light of the Void Star. This wasn’t the occasional death I’d been experiencing this was a massacre. I closed my eyes looking through the eyes of one of my angels as they swooped down on a soul lifting them and carrying them away to Albion before some voidling could begin to feed on them.
“What happened?” I asked through the angel.
“The Warlord, he came and started killing all of us in the city and enslaving those who hadn’t taken the oath,”
I frowned. “The Warlord?”
“He carried a massive two-handed sword and wore Atlas armor,” the rescued soul of the man said. “Please my lord my family was in that city they might still be…”
“What was his name?” I interrupted. “What was his title?”
“King Arthur, The Once and Future King, Champion of Kalesa, Amadra, Kortrix…so many names of gods I didn’t even realize there were really that many,” the soul said. “I can’t even remember them all.”
I opened my eyes coming back to the senses of my physical body.
“What is it?” Guinevere asked me.
“Apparently,” I said dryly withholding the disgust I felt. “This world has a Warlord again.”
“What do you mean again?” Guinevere asked. “Kalesa removed you as her champion she can’t just… That hypocritical bastard!”
“Yes,” I agreed. “Arthur is the new Warlord, he is also the Champion of other gods as well.”
“Other gods? But that’s not possible,” Guinevere protested.
“Apparently it has been possible or they made it possible,” I said. “He’s slaughtering anyone who took the oath and dominating those who didn’t. If he was lacking in Rank points he’s going to have more than enough soon to push himself up to Demigod and beyond.”
“You think he’d sacrifice his power base by putting Rank points directly towards his attributes?” Guinevere asked. “Never mind of course he would, anything to beat you.”
I shrugged. “Its not even important if he beats me to god rank, I doubt the battle between us would stop just because he reached god rank before I did.”
“Only one person can become a god,” Guinevere said lowering her head.
I caught her chin lifting it to meet her eyes. “There will be at least two more this time,” I promised her. “I don’t need the god’s permission to ascend, and neither do you.”
Guinevere nodded. “Alright,” she said taking me at my word. “If anyone can make that happen, it’s you.”
She took a step back and unsheathed her sword. “Now are you ready to help me kill my cousin?”