“I am wondering Adel, did your parents ever tell you why The Divine gives mana to Its believers?” I asked, without really expecting or waiting for an answer. He was muted after all. “Allow me to give you some insight into what is really happening in the world you are living in, worm. Aeons ago, all mortals of this realm used mana, regardless of their faith. It was everywhere, just like the air we breathe. What we now call The Divine was once nothing more than a mortal, just like you. And his name was Magaer. That’s right, the hero of all those old stories was actually the mortal who came to become our Divine. Magaer was powerful, even by the standards of the superior spellcaster race of those first people. And he was ambitious.”

I noticed Adel leaning his chin downward to look at Myriam’s dead body which was growing cold in his hands. Depressed.

I couldn’t have that. I needed him to pay attention to what I was saying. So I swiftly cast a 4-word cantrip that sent invisible needles into his neck. That served to focus his anger, but most importantly his attention, on me.

“Magaer figured out a way to become immortal,” I continued, now that I had Adel’s attention again, “but his ambition reached way further. He was not content with living forever, but wanted to ascend to godhood. For this reason, he designed a ritual through which he would give part of his powers to other people in the ceremony we now know as the liturgy. The genius of his creation was that with each person he would grant mana to, a part of his essence would attach to them. This essence grew with the person and fed off their experiences. It became stronger by storing their life’s knowledge and experiences. And once the person died, the essence returned to him, making him more powerful by a whole lifetime. Slowly but surely Magaer became stronger, and the more powerful he became, the more followers he gained until he reached a point where he was the strongest spellcaster alive.”

This time Adel’s face frowned as if he could not make sense of what I was saying or he had a question he wanted to ask. Confused. Regardless, I would not remove the muting spell since I was sure he would quickly derail the conversation toward Myriam’s death and it wasn’t yet time for that.

“I bet you’re wondering why I am giving you this lesson on religion,” I continued without paying attention to his troubled expression at all. “We have centuries of ignorance to cover before you begin to fathom what is really happening, and what your role in this world is. Once Magaer reached the point where he could not be touched by any of the spellcasters of his time, he started eradicating all other immortals, which we now know as the ‘pagan purge’. Not many of the old mages survived, and the few who did have not made an appearance since those years. Thus, for millennia, The Divine loaned out mana and collected its power with interest, eventually reaching deity-level powers. It was not long before extraplanar creatures took notice of him.”

Once more, the pitiful mortal before me let his attention wander while I was revealing truths long lost to his kind, but I knew just how I could bring him back.

“The angels who massacred the people in Nara,” I said, louder than before, and he immediately focused on what I was saying again, “used to be many times more than they are today. Their numbers diminished when a minor dispute ignited a war against Magaer and his followers. Magaer slaughtered thousands of the angels until eventually the remaining ones bent the knee and swore eternal allegiance to him. Soon, Magaer was raised to greater deity status and was revered all over Elysia as the one true god, The Divine. But The Divine became too greedy… or maybe Magaer didn’t anticipate someone like me when he created the liturgy spell. You see, when The Divine grants mana to someone, Its essence attaches itself to this person’s empathy and sentiments. That’s why people sometimes report a feeling of elation afterward. What do you expect would happen if someone with no feelings tried to siphon mana from The Divine?

His eyes were now wide open, as was his mouth, though he could still make no sound. Surprised.

Is he really just now comprehending that it really is me and not The Divine?

“I am your new god. I am The Divine now. Magaer’s greed proved to be Magaer’s folly. He remained in power for too long and forgot that when he created the spell that brought him to the state of greater godhood he was nothing but a lowly mortal spellcaster, and thus prone to error. His Divine Essence found no emotion, no empathy to attach itself to and could not return back to him. Magaer had grown old and soft, and it was high time that he died.”

At this point, Adel had all the information he needed to connect the dots, and he was starting to actively pay attention to me. I wanted that rage and hatred to start burning inside of him. Thus, I released the mute spell I had previously cast on him and watched him immediately open his mouth to talk.

“Mana changed you, Kai,” he said, in a still-pleading voice. “You can still turn back. I beg of you, help your sister. Help Myriam.”

“Mana changed me, you say?” I asked in a mocking tone I had so far rarely used. “Mana liberated me. You still don’t get it, do you? I killed the angels because I could. I killed everyone in Nara because I was having fun with the mana and XP I got back every time one of them died. If only those two archpriests had not cast the barrier, I would have crushed you insects inside it as well. I was sick and tired of hearing you lot whine about how much you wanted to become a warmage or how much you wanted to meet dragons, knowing that dragons would soon kneel before me. Unfortunately, I was not as capable of casting magic as I am now. But at least the people there got what they deserved. And you mentioned your parents? I killed them just because you were always so smug during our duels.”

I could now see his teeth showing, primal rage taking the best of him and his chain stretched once more.

Yes, that’s it. Hate me. Hate me with everything you have.

“Yet once I woke up after my first berserk mana rush, I couldn’t cast spells unless I really needed them. It seemed there were protections put in place by Magaer in case something like this happened. For this reason, I decided to stay with our kind and loving Myriam until I found a way to break this seal and ascend to godhood. Oh, what a pitiful and gullible girl she was. I did not even have to cry very hard before she felt guilty and made up a story to protect me from the horrors that took place in Nara. She was always so easy to manipulate. I massacred a ship full of manaless men, women, and children and it took just a few days for her to start apologizing and begging for forgiveness because she had been insensitive to my pain. All I needed to do was play the helpless child card and her motherly instincts would kick her logic away.”

Insulting Myriam’s intelligence and kind nature worked wonders on Adel’s anger. I could now see veins appearing on his forehead and a trickle of blood running down his neck, originating at the point where the collar was holding him at bay.

“Let me tell you, I did not hold back with those people at all,” I continued. “Killing spellcasters has the advantage of their essence helping me grow stronger. Slaughtering those people though, they were so insignificant, I barely felt anything. It was like drinking warm water on a sunny day. But you can’t blame me. I never felt anything close to remorse or regret. The same way you can’t blame a fire for burning or light for illuminating. I simply enjoyed myself, only for an instant, and not nearly as much as when Myriam was telling me how sorry she was afterward.”

“You’re sick!” Adel said and spat at my feet as I walked one step closer to him.

“I am the supreme being,” I retorted, a little bit of fury suddenly rising up into my throat, “and you were not much harder to manipulate either, foolish Adel. It only took me a few days before the attempt to kill myself pushed you to forgive me, and ultimately led us here. Which brought me to the final part of my plan. In order for me to ascend, I had to break the seal Magaer had placed on his Essence. As I traveled with Myriam, I studied all types of myths and legends until I found the spell I was looking for. I then created an entry in the Restoring Deities book and had her believe that coming here and using the dagger on the Mana Tree would release me of The Divine’s Essence and restore It. In reality, she walked straight to her doom.”

“Why? What could you gain by hurting her? You just said she only wanted to help you,” Adel said, still not able to understand the genius of my plan.

“If I was going to take my place among the greater gods of the Apocosmos, I needed to break the seal holding me back. In order to do this, I had to sever all bonds with the mortal world. At first, I thought having no bonds would be to my benefit but the ritual I discovered was very specific. I needed to kill my best friend and my worst enemy. I had the best friend ready and waiting, but I troubled myself for a while regarding who could be my worst enemy. Who would hate me enough to fill that place in the spell’s equation? And then you begged me to take you instead of that pitiful manaless prince of yours. I realized I needed you to come to me, and what better way than to grant your wish of pulling the little insect back from the dead. And then you ran directly to me, ready to be convinced of my innocent nature and willing to aid Myriam’s quest to restore The Divine.”

“It was you!” he said, almost too quietly to hear. “You brought him back.”

I walked one step closer to him, put the dagger which still held Myriam’s blood in my mouth, and started clapping my hands to congratulate him.

A single step. That was all that stood between us now. A step and the ignition of undying hatred toward me. I took the dagger in my right hand again and licked the blood from my lips.

“Do you see it now?” I continued. I was getting anxious to finally take my rightful place as the overlord of all spellcasters. “I have you right where I want you to be. I killed my best friend, and while doing it, I created my worst enemy. Pretty poetic, I’d say. I might have to change this ritual after I’m done with you. Now hate me with all you got, Adel. I enjoyed killing your parents and I most definitely enjoyed killing Myriam, that condescending weakling.”

The expression he had on his face now puzzled me. He was supposed to have dilated pupils, widened nostrils, and furrowed eyebrows. He was supposed to be angry, given the circumstance he was in.

However, his lips were pressed, his eyes were slightly more open, and his eyebrows were raised. This was the face Myriam wore whenever she fell into one of my guilt traps. Sadness.

But why would he look at me like that? He should be angry and hateful toward me, not sympathetic and sad.

“You are an unfortunate little boy,” he said, his every word a stone dropping in the still lake of anger in me. “It’s not your fault you were born like this.”

“Don’t talk as if this is some kind of impediment,” I replied, trying to brush off my anger, the only emotion I could ever feel. “I was born above all and will soon—”

“I pity you, Kai,” he interrupted me. My rage was rising like a tidal wave in me now. “Myriam really loved you with all of her heart. I pity you for not being able to understand how much she loved you. I pity you, for not being able to experience this.”

A mortal pitying me? An insect whose rightful place is on the sole of my boot pitying me? I tried my best to control the mana in me and not kill him by accident with a sudden burst. Instead, I took the last step toward him and tightened the grip around my dagger.

“You, pity me?” I asked furiously as I was about to strike. “Know your place, insect.”

I moved my dagger upward to strike from above. Seeing this, Adel hugged Myriam with both of his hands and closed his eyes waiting for the strike. I brought my dagger down on him, ready to feel the mana be unleashed in me.

Yet instead of hitting the soft flesh on the back of his neck, the dagger hit his shield which was now hovering above him. Myriam was troublesome even after death, it seemed. Before I could even cast a spell to neutralize the protective ward, a bright light emanated from the shield, enveloping him and Myriam. The light ceased as soon as it appeared and yet once it was gone, so was Myriam and Adel.

The stupid witch had imbued the shield with a teleportation spell. I tried casting several spells in order to determine where they might have disappeared to, but my efforts were in vain. Myriam knew how to cover her teleportation spells.

I guessed this would have to do for now then. Adel would surely try to avenge her death, so I was certain I would not even need to search for him. He would come running to me. And that would be the last time I would have to burden myself with mortals.

In the meantime, I have a lot of preparations to make. I may not have my full powers available, but I can definitely take on some lesser deities already.

But first I needed to assemble my army. Or rather reassemble The Divine’s army. I wondered how many of the remaining angels were ready to swear fealty to their new god.

This is going to be interesting.