Jack rose into the air again, after his twenty-eighth trip carrying debris to the makeshift landfill outside the city. As he appeared in the sky looking over the work being done, he felt quite pleased over the progress that took place in the last seven hours. It was well late at night, but his temporary sun provided light as if it was day time. Undead were cleaning up, and the largest pieces of debris had been cleared. Many of the craters that were formed were almost all filled, and large vacant lots were created from the clearing of the ruins.

Jack almost had the urge to wipe his brow of sweat, but he knew there was none. He didn't feel tired in the physical sense, but he was deathly tired mentally... Tired in his soul.

How Jack would love to take Leslie and Emily to his tomb and sleep for the next two weeks... That was the best sleep he had ever gotten, Jack mentally sighed.

His gaze moved over into the distance in the city to Leslie who was helping fill in a crater. Helping, might not have been the best word. Jack mentally frowned, when he saw many Citizens had surrounded her and seemed to be stopping her from helping.

Jack silently floated over to watch from above, and he couldn't help but feel warm from his people's words.

"Leave this kind of work to us. As the first Consort, it's good just to have your presence here."

"I can still help! If my husband can help, then I can too." Leslie stamped her foot, appearing annoyed, but with a helpless smile

Another undead sounded, "Please have mercy on us, Madam Consort. We didn't fight you further when you wanted to help clean up the effects from the homes, but please... This is hard labor. Let us men do it."

"Madam Consort, let the men get this. Come with us, we can help in other ways. There is no need for you to break back for this task."

"I want to do this, then let me." Leslie became stubborn.

All the undead surrounding was at a loss, male and female.

Jack descended, as all the undead seen him, they quickly kneeled or prostrated, except Leslie.

"What seems to be the trouble?" Jack asked, while already knowing.

The lead male undead that was speaking earlier lifted his head while prostrating, "We wish to save the First Consort from hard work, but she stubbornly insists in performing this back-breaking work of filling in this hole."

"Is this true?" Jack looked over to Leslie.

Leslie creased her brows seeing Jack appear, and ask this... She nodded her head, with a solemn expression.

Another braver female undead spoke up, "My lord God-King, we ladies tried to persuade her to come help us, but she refused us as well..." Several ladies behind her nodded while prostrating.

Jack nodded a few times.

Another male undead lifted his head, and felt braver now that others voiced, he spoke, "Please make your First Consort retreat, and allow us to do this work."

Leslie brow twitched, but her face remained largely passive.

Jack nodded again, but then spoke, "I understand, and I thank you for considering my Wife's wellbeing. However... I cannot make her do anything she doesn't want to do."

All the undead in the area that kneeled, seeing him descend, and was listening intently were startled... Did the God-King not control his wife, or did his wife control him?!?

Seeing shock cross the face of the undead around him, Jack spoke again, "My Wife... I cannot make her do anything she doesn't want to, no one can... Not you, not a king, and not even a god like me can, but that doesn't mean I can't help her."

Jack looked over to Leslie, as he saw her expression ease greatly, and a gentle smile hung on her lips.

"Can I help you?" Jack asked as he extended his hand to her.

"Of course," Leslie responded softly, taking that extended hand.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"If you, my undead, would bring the materials, I and my Wife will fill this in... Please."

Being asked politely astonished the undead, and they almost broke their leg bones trying to get up to bring anything he may need.

*******

Hours later, Jack and Leslie returned to the Holy Palace. As Jack floated to the front of the Holy Palace entrance with Leslie in his arms, his Golden robes adornments, Femur Ferula, and book dissipated into glittering light. This left Jack again in his simple robes.

Leslie placed her feet down, as she walked in front of Jack through the entrance.

Jack got a good look at Leslie's rearview. Despite the dust and dirt on her Qi Pao... Jack felt it was a feast for his gaze. He felt a certain boiling feeling within his soul, that he could only figure was the soul equivalent to being sexually aroused.

Jack quickened his floating speed to loom next to Leslie, as he spoke, while they walked through the Courtroom, "Leslie... Do you have... Anything you're doing tonight?"

"Actually... I do." Leslie spoke, as she looked up to Jack with a refreshing smile.

"Oh..." Jack sounded disappointed, but he nodded as Leslie chuckled.

Leslie reached over to Jack and intertwined her skeletal hand with his large bony hand and pulled his floating form over to her.

Jack looked down with his flaming eyes, wondering what she was up to... Seeing her indication, he leaned his head down to her to hear what she was saying. Jack felt this was odd seeing as he could literally hear her thoughts if she messaged him, and with his sense, he could hear across the room, but he did so never the less.

It was then that he felt a tingle down his spine, as Leslie whispered, "I have something to do alright... It involves us bathing together and then reaping for the rest of the month."

Jack then felt Leslie's soft lips press on the side of his skull, as he stood back straight, leaving a deep lipstick kiss on the side of his skull.

"...Tomorrow I need to perform Emily's Coming of Age Ceremony..." Jack said while trying to restrain some sense of sanity.

"I'll be the villain this time... I'm sure she will listen to her good sister and let me have you for a little while..." Leslie spoke with a certain commanding grace.

"In that case..." Not one to wait, he scooped up a giggling Leslie, as he disappeared from the inside of the court as if he teleported.

*******

The God-King and the First Consort disappeared into the Holy Palace for a week with no contact with the outside world. It seemed that Leslie had already informed those that needed to be, and with Lucius, Crag, and Julia they were finished with the clean-up, and now new construction began. Crag brought out his people he had already in the city. He ran a construction business, to begin with, so it was easy for him to get the jobs started with no chief Engineer.

Lucius rallied the Church's efforts and organized with the relay stations that were sending materials. With the Help of Emily, Lucius also was able to have massive amounts of supplies being shipped to an area between Saigunrai and Nogore, as designated for Bellum. These supplies would be for the Holy Concrete.

While progress was being made in Saigunrai and for the start of a War machine... The Dead Tide knew nothing of sleep or retreat.

*******

"BLOODY HELL!" A massive hammer smashed a massive Brutal Dead Soul, just outside the walls of Souigak. Abloom of Orange dust billowed, as Warmarshall Michael quickly retreated, in the wake of the falling monstrosity.

"Brother that makes..." Jennifer counted on her hands, "Fourteen Brutal Dead Souls this week. That's up from last week."

Jennifer gazed fondly over at her brother, as he returned to his position on the wall. Jennifer stood there with her military wear, but around her head was a black leather mask that covered her eyes and draped down to look like a sleeping mask that was melting.

Michael rubbed Jennifer's head lovingly, "I take care of the big ones. They take care of the small ones... It all works out really."

Jennifer had a bitter smile, "I wish we could do for them what the God-King did for me."

As Jennifer spoke of the God-King, Michael made the symbol of the God-King with his hands and bowed his head, as he was taught by the Prophet.

She saw this, and was reminded, and did the same. It seemed when they spoke of the God-King they would perform this religious action.

"Of course... but unlike you... They were not Graced by the God-King. I-"

"Warmarshall!" A soldier approached Warmarshall Michael quickly.

Michael paused in mid-sentence and looked to the call. The Undead come up and kneeled with a message scroll.

Michael saw that this was seals by the Archbishop of Souigak and took the Scroll and opened it to read. The soldier retreated quickly.

After he scanned it quickly, he read it again... Finally, a single word slipped from his lips...

"...A Holy War..."

Michael looked back into the distance and seen the incoming waves of the Dead Tide... They never ended, and it was with both Armies of his and Warmarshall Darkfield's to stave off them long enough to handle the next wave. It was with Darkfield's research that they found the weakness of these Dead Soul Mushrooms... The head and eyes. They still had to be wary of the orange dust.

"What is it?" Jennifer walked up next to her brother.

"The God-King." Michael performed his action, as his sister did...

"Has declared a Holy War on the Underworld." Michael crushed the scroll in his hands, as it turned into powder to be taken by the wind.

At the moment these words escaped him, alarms from the east side of Souigak rang out, and Michael furrowed his brows. He looked back over at the dead tide and prayed to the God-King that it would last long enough to see what happened in the east... There was no way they, Souigak, could handle the Dead Tide coming from two angles. It was the only thing that saved them so far... The Dead Tide was stupidly running into them from one direction...

"Jennifer... Pray that isn't the Dead Tide." Michael spoke, as he jumped from the high wall of the west side, to crash into the ground, as he sprinted to the east of the City.