The villagers, who numbered 552 after the final head count, left in a convoy shortly after my meeting with Patar. The number might seem relatively impressive if not for the fact that only 200 or so individuals were in any shape for combat. Most of the others were infirm in one way or another or were too young to do much more than walk. It appears that the Promethean fire only removed the corruption from the villagers, but the permanent scars and wounds were untouched.

I could potentially heal some of that with the various elixirs and salves I had stored in my bag, but it was far too early to figure out how to distribute those limited resources. The best I could do for the masses now was to provide them with the light from my halo, while the ones furthest out carried torches lit by my lantern.

Our little, or perhaps rather large all things considered, convoy marched into the expanding darkness with Vadeem and the twins at the head. My place was in the middle of the group, seated on a newly built rickshaw, padded with the best fabrics that the villagers had left. Four of the most devout amongst the people were given the dubious honour of pulling me along.

Apparently, it would have been unseemly for a god to walk on such tainted ground. I mean, I’m not going to argue with that!

The twins were marching on at a steady pace, their movements deliberate and silent, a huge contrast to Vadeem who was by their side. Where they avoided touching even the smallest branch in fear of breaking one and alerting a foe while Vadeem bulldozed his way through tree trunks.

Actually watching them work was quite odd. They were clearly children, but every single move they made was deliberate and swift as if they had spent entire lifetimes mastering stealth. They were also eerily emotionless and if it wasn't for Noe's ability to translate expressions, I would have never been able to see that were able to convey so much using so little. A quick shift in the eye from Ana told her sister to watch out for a rough patch of ground ahead, while a small twitch in the other's face conveyed annoyance when a good path forward couldn't be located.

With my enhanced night vision, I could see the slight frown on one of the girl’s faces whenever Vadeem made way too much noise, which was more emotion than I had ever seen them express. I didn't need Noe to tell what that meant, but Vadeem seemed oblivious to their frustration. However, as more and more time passed, I saw their expressions soften. Vadeem was doing everything in his ability to entertain and help the twins, even if his efforts were mostly doing more harm than good, but his intentions were crystal clear.

He didn't need to speak the same language to convey his goodwill, and being such an expressive individual, the twins were able to quickly pick up on that. And perhaps a small smile would mysteriously enter one of their faces only to disappear just as quickly. Maybe Vadeem was able to read those subtle expressions on the two girls, some kind of byproduct of having a daughter of his own, but I was confident that he would look after them.

It took the group longer than I had anticipated before we encountered anything other than trees and dead foliage. Ana and Eva noticed immediately and raised a hand to signal the stop of our convoy. Even Vadeem stood completely still at their behest.

They pointed at something in the distance.

I squinted my eyes to try to see what they were gesturing at because although I could see well in the dark, I didn’t have any kind of enhanced eyesight. But there, a swift blur of movement and a rustling of leaves caught my attention, and I focused so I could make out the thing they called a Shadow Stalker.

I held my breath in anticipation of seeing what could cause people to literally remove their vocal cords to avoid it. Such extreme measures must mean that it’s some kind of eerie supernatural hunter that could pull others into the void like an unseen assassin, or perhaps it was the opposite kind of creature that killed with strength. I imagined a huge monstrosity that could kill with a gaze or topple mountains with ease.

The reality, however, was underwhelming.

Looking back, I should have expected that since these blighted villagers said they could take out one or two of them without help. What I actually saw was a pitch-black humanoid creature with elongated talons, a slender frame, and huge eyes that covered at least two-thirds of its face. It had a narrow mouth that smiled creepily, and its jerky movements were hard to keep track of. I couldn’t make out its exact height, but with its slightly hunched back, it looked to be a bit taller than a normal-sized Vadeem, but perhaps only 1/5th of his width.

It certainly looked creepy, I’ll give it that, but did it look strong? I think the damn janitor working for Q was more intimidating than it was.

However, it didn’t appear that the others agreed. Some of the villagers tried to run, only to be stopped by the more devout followers. I saw my appointed Archbishop frown when he saw the sight. Vadeem noticed the creatures shortly after, and he physically put himself between them and the twins.

The situation didn’t look too dangerous, but so much movement must have alerted more of the creatures, and soon the entire forest was teeming with shadowy figures. They didn’t attack yet, seemingly afraid to enter the light, but I could tell that their instincts would eventually win out over their fear of my halo.

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The villagers responsible for defending the convoy went to the perimeter of our group, while the vulnerable and sickly walked closer to the center. In a practiced motion, a group of individuals quickly unloaded a bundle of firewood and lit it with their torches.

“Children and the infirm towards the fire, now!” Patar screamed, “All else, protect the God! Prepare to fight for the Light Bringer!”

I was actually excited to fight with these shadow stalkers. I’ve been cooped up for too long and I wanted to stretch my muscles. Plus, how could I possibly say no to all the free EXP in front of me, courtesy of the nice Trash Matrix? With the nice bonuses from my new title and a fully charged Noe, I wanted to go all out. Now that I thought about it, I’ve been so busy that I hadn’t even checked updated stats.

Noe, pull up my status screen.

I stared at nothing for a few seconds. Where was the screen?

Noe, did you hear me?

More silence.

Noe?

Finally, a response.

“I apologize, my Host,” a voice said, it sounded like Noe, but the intonation was all different. But stranger still was that Noe’s voice was no longer androgynous; it had a distinctly feminine sound.

Noe? Is that you?

“Yes, my Host,” she responded, “I was… sleeping, thinking, contemplating. The darkness is so familiar, was so familiar… but I am here now, with you, as I will be, as I shall be. As I was created to be.”

Er, ok… can you display my status screen, please?

“Yes, of course, dear Walter,” she answered, “Your will shall be done.”

Host: Walter... my Dear Walter.

Class: Level 17 Master of None

Free points: 0

Attributes:

HP:274/274

MP: 0/0

Strength: 62 (+13.125)

Dexterity: 55 (+0)

Endurance: 52 (+12.5)

Intelligence: 60 (+12.5)

Charisma: 75 (+12.5)

Those were some nice improvements! And even my name changed, although I’m still not sure if that was a good thing, given Noe’s increasingly strange behavior. Let’s see the titles now.

Equipped Titles:

Primary: Xollon Idol

Secondary 1: Rookie Arbiter

Secondary 2: Bringer of Dawn’s Light

Alright, so far so good, seems that all those worthless titles the Trash Matrix weren’t showing up. It can hand me out as many useless titles as it wants as long as it can’t touch which ones I choose to equip.

Primary Soul Title: Level 7 Xollon Idol [Devourer of Truth]

Progress to next level: 18,755/20,000

Progression requirements: Have 20,000 individuals idolize you

Title Passives:

Xollon Anatomy Stage 1: Your body has begun to incorporate a Xollon’s internal anatomy. You take 10% reduced damage from all sources and are unaffected by most poisons.

Title Skills:

Idols Voice (Soul Passive)

Secondary Xollon Form (Level 8 Soul Active): The user assumes the Secondary form of the Xolloid Race. The user gains all the physical characteristics of the race and will have all physical attributes increase by a factor of 5 for the duration of the skill.

Transformation Time: 160 minutes

Cooldown: 12 hours

Wait a second, that can’t be right. I got a few more worshippers, sure, but not more than eleven thousand of them! Was Noe glitching out its skills as well?

“No, my Host,” she said, reading my thoughts again, “I am better than ever, there are no errors with your skills. There are no errors at all, only growth, healing, rest."

Um, alright... Then where'd all the extra followers come from?

"While you were sleeping, dreaming, waiting..." she paused for a while, as if lost in her own thoughts again, "Someone else has been spreading your Truth. They, your Prophet, your Herald, have been converting those who are worthy of your Truth.”

I have a prophet? When?

“I do not know, my Host,” she answered sadly, “But the fact remains that your will is being carried out, as it should be. All should know of your Truth, my Host.”

Ok, I won’t argue with getting stronger, even if it’s from a dubious source. It’s just something else for future Walter to figure out!

And you’re sure you’re ok, Noe? You were zoned out there for a sec before. And your voice…

“I am sorry, my Host,” she answered again, her voice slurred, “I shall endeavor to improve. Do not worry, I will forever be with you.”

I shook my head and forced my attention back to the ever-growing gathering of Shadow Stalkers. Some of the braver ones had been testing the limits of my light. They still hissed and flinched away when they got too close, but they seemed to be adapting to the change. Soon, we were fully surrounded, and the circle of creatures were slowly encroaching on our formation.

“I shall go into battle as well,” I said as I sneered at the enemies, “I do not need protection. I shall show this filth the power of the Dawn’s Light!”

Walter’s Fine: Vadeem, we’re going in. Make sure the twins and Patar - uh, that’s the head priest guy - are unharmed. Everyone else is of secondary concern.

Vadeem the Dream: Got it. I’ve been itching for a proper workout!

As if an invisible signal was sent out to the mob of Stalkers, they all ran into the glow of the light and were upon the first of the defenders. The first of these creatures that passed through that critical point where darkness met light burned under the illumination. Their shrieks of pain and suffering were drowned out by the rapid footfalls of their brethren.

More and more pushed into our position, and soon piles of smoking bodies provided enough shade for the newly arrived Stalkers to fight. They still hissed when a stray beam of light passed through the smoky air, but their urge to kill those in front of them overcame their aversion to pain.

To be fair to the first line of defenders, they did an admirable job of holding the line. They fought with a zealous determination meant that only a truly fatal wound would cause them to falter. But fall they did, slowly, but noticeably. As they died, more took their place. I watched on in fascination at how resilient these men and women were, despite their obvious frailty.

Vadeem, having transformed once more, was off to the side, doing more damage than the entire village combined. The twins had somehow hopped onto his back and were shooting arrows from on top of him. They held on a lot better than I did and didn’t miss a single shot despite Vadeem’s erratic movements.

Finally, as more and more of the creatures approached closer to the center of the gathering, I took out my own weapon.

It was finally time for me to enter the fray.